Little People, Big Secret
by legolover
Summary: Traci swore she woke up sane this morning but when she and her 8 year old cousin find a mini version of the black pearl with six inch living, breathing versions of Jack and Will, who start to get bigger, Traci thinks she's bound for the nut house.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I own Traci, Traci's family, Alex, and the plot line. Pirates of the Caribbean belongs to Disney.

**Author's notes: **  
**1. I change point of view often because it works for this story. It's usually separated by lines so you have a clear change coming.**

**_2. ___****Un-beta'd. Sorry for any errors!**

_**3. ******__This is a mixture of new and old with a really presence as to where it should be heading now. It will be finished. It'll probably be more condensed than the original version but I think that will be for the better. ENJOY!_

Summary:Traci could have sworn she woke up sane this morning, unfortunately her sanity put to a test when she and her eight year old cousin discover a min-black pearl with six inch living, breathing versions of Jack and Will, who just won't stop growing and now Traci is having a hard time keeping her "little secret" little anymore.

* * *

**Ch. 1 _Call the lost & found, I think my sanity took a hike_**

San Francisco, and the area there around it, was magical in the evening. Even if it was cold and rainy, there were still all these great possibilities that something wonderful could happen. Tonight though, twenty-year old Traci Trinidad could only dream of those possibilities as she drove towards her Uncle Greg's house. She had been assigned to babysit her eight year old cousin Alexandra tonight. Normally, Traci wouldn't have minded the job, but after a hectic week of finals she just wanted to cuddle with her boyfriend who had just returned from his college in Oregon for his summer vacation and forget about the world for a while. Unfortunately, there were other considerations to make and getting an eight year old out of chaotic home environment was more important than her social life.

As she parked on the street in front of her Uncle's house she saw her Aunt Deborah come storming out of the front door in a swirl of blonde hair, black chiffon fabric, and heels.

"You are stifling me!" Deborah was screeching at the top of her lungs while Gregory Trinidad was chasing after his wife trying to apologize in vain for some transgression he didn't know he had committed. The blonde ignored his pleas though as she collected herself into her vehicle and tore out into the street without a second glance back.

Traci took a deep breath as she got out of her Ford Escape and walked awkwardly up to her Uncle who looked like he was so frazzled with melancholy that he almost didn't notice when his niece came up to him until she coughed.

"Oh, Traci…" He tried to smile, but it didn't really reach the corner of his eyes as he reached out to hug her. She patted him on the back as they pulled apart. "Alex is inside packing. Thank you for taking her again this weekend."

"What's family for?" Traci shrugged though she did it with a sad sort of grin as she followed her uncle up his front stoop and into his townhouse.

She really wished that he would pull himself together enough to try and be the stable parent for his daughter that he used to be. But his haggard appearance spoke of a man who was completely consumed in trying to understand his wife cruelty that he could not spare the rest of himself to help his tiny daughter cope with her mother's dismissive attitude towards not only himself, but her as well.

"I'm sorry if you had plans. I know I sprung it on Robert and Meredith at the last minute and didn't know everyone had plans," Greg said as they waited for Alex downstairs.

"It's really okay, Uncle Greg," Traci said even though it wasn't remotely near the truth. "We understand and I didn't necessarily have anything going on."

"Still though…it shouldn't be this way," Greg said.

"No," Traci said and refrained from saying that he could change that if he just paid more attention to his daughter, but it wasn't her place and this was about helping Alex not her uncle's broken marriage.

At the pitter-patter of small feet, Traci smiled when she saw the dirty-blonde head of her young cousin bob down the stairs. She was dressed in jeans that were stuffed into bright pink slickers with a sweater and raincoat. Her blue eyes lit up when she saw Traci and she bounded into the girl's arms and nearly knocked over her cousin in the process.

"I missed you!" The eight year old sighed into Traci's jeans and the older girl smoothed down a few stray hairs on the young girl's head.

"I missed you too, Alex," Traci said breaking from the embrace to take the overnight bag at the little girl's side. "I'm so excited you're staying for the weekend. We're going to have so much fun." Alex nodded in assent before turning her Dad looking a little sad. He knelt on the ground and wrapped his arms around her, squashing her backpack against her where her stuffed alligator, Snuffles, was sticking out.

"Be good for you Aunt Meri and Uncle Rob, okay?" He kissed her forehead. "I'll see you on Sunday then?"

"Yes, Daddy," she said untangling herself from him and taking Traci's hand. They made their respective goodbyes at the front door before Alex took Traci's hand to walk out towards the car. They spent the first few minutes of the drive in silence before Alex spoke.

"I wish they would stop fighting." Her voice was barely above a whisper and Traci's heart ached at the statement.

"So do I," Traci said reaching out to squeeze her cousin's hand before for a moment before turning on the radio in the hopes that whichever boy-band was current now could push back the sadness for just a little while longer.

While Alex lived in the main city with her parents Traci's family had taken up residence in one of the smaller surrounding cities in an old Victorian mansion that had managed to not be split into a duplex. It had been Traci's parents dream to fix up the old home, make their own, and raise their family. Now it was a fully functioning, beautiful piece of architecture that smelled fondly of old books and baked goods (Meredith's favorite things to cook). Traci led the way into the house and saw the instant relief come across her cousin's face as she scampered through the house, dropping her backpack on the couch and zooming to the movie collection that adorned the wall in the living room area.

"You get the pizza," Alex said taking charge. "I'll get the movie."

"Aye, aye, Captain!" Traci saluted her cousin, dropped the overnight bag by the front stairs, and disappeared into the kitchen to make the inevitable frozen pizza that was there go-to snack food whenever they were together.

"Traci, I have a…propos…umm," Alex scrunched up her nose in concentration as she walked into the kitchen. "An idea for a movie." She placed a movie on the peninsula counter top as she took a seat in one of the bar stools in it. She slid the cover towards Traci who set the timer on the oven before she picked up the object to look it over.

"_Pirates of the Caribbean_." Traci glanced at her cousin with a frown. "Are you sure you want to see this? You're only eight."

"I'm eight and a half!" Alex crossed her arms over her chest. "And I'm not a baby. I don't need to watch princess movies all the time."

"Yes but this movie is PG-13 so technically you shouldn't watch it," Traci said.

"No, I can still watch it as long as I have an adult present," Alex said with a smirk. "You're an adult, right?"

"You're too smart for your own good," Traci said with a narrowed gaze.

"That's what my teachers tell me," Alex said with a shrug. Her hopeful eyes upturned to look at her cousin. "Does that mean we can watch it?"

_What could it hurt? _Traci thought to herself._  
_

"I'm probably going to regret this later but yes you can watch it," she said.

"Yes!" Alex jumped up, grabbed the DVD from Traci's hands, and ran off to put it into the player. Traci followed after her cousin and watched as she kicked off her shoes and wrapped herself up in blanket on the couch. Traci grabbed the remote controls for the TV and DVD player before taking a seat next to her cousin and stealing some of the blanket from her.

"If this movie does get to scary for you, we can turn it off right away," Traci said when the DVD menu popped up and she pressed play.

"I'll be fine," Alex said snuggling a little closer to Traci who wrapped her arm around her cousin and sighed in content.

Half an hour into the movie Traci had noted that it had started to rain much more heavily outside when she got up to go get their pizza out of the oven. She hoped her parents would be okay tonight. It was starting to look really nasty outside and she knew the roads could get dangerously thick with fog once the marine layer rolled in. She picked up her phone and dashed off a text message to her mother about the predicament outside and got a response a minute there after.

_We're debating staying at the hotel for the night. Make sure to lock up the house._

Traci sent her mother her reassurances that she would do just that before she called out to her cousin in the living room. She silently handed her the pizza and root beer she had saved for this situation as she paused the movie for a moment.

"Mom and Dad say I can't have sugar drinks cause of my cavities," Alex said looking at the root beer forlornly.

"What your mom and dad don't know won't hurt them," Traci said opening the can for her. "Just brush your teeth afterwards." She placed her food and drink on a nearby end table and told Alex she needed to check on the locks and windows of the house. When a sharp clack of thunder mixed with the gentle electric hum of lighting crashed outside the house, Alex made a small noise of distress and clutched her alligator closer to her body.

"Well that's not good." Traci said as another loud boom sent Alex scurrying under one of the couch pillows.

"Oh come now." Traci lifted the pillow off the girl. "There is nothing to be scared of. It's a storm, it'll pass, end of story."

"Easy for you to say. You're not supposed to scared of stuff like that anymore otherwise you'd be called a big baby." Alex grumbled as she sat up.

"Your quite sardonic for an eight year old." Traci raised an eyebrow.

"Does sardonic mean smart-aleck? If so Mom says it's cause I hang around you all the time." Alex replied matter-of-fact.

"Yeah well...she's been known to be right on occasion." Traci said with a terse grunt before she dashed around the house to make her rounds before returning downstairs to finish her meal in peace with her cousin. As they watched the movie, Traci noticed with a small smile that her cousin seemed to find comfort in the eccentric drivel of Jack Sparrow. She hadn't seen that kind of joy on her cousin's face in a long time.

Another crash of thunder outside made Traci's leg bob up and down in nervousness. She didn't show her fear of storms as easily as her cousin did who was pressed firmly into her side, but she wasn't afraid to admit that Mother Nature frightened her when it was this incredibly terrifying.

_It's okay. Keep calm_, Traci thought. _Everything is just fine._

Traci should have knocked on wood the moment she thought that as she and her cousin both jumped up from the couch when a loud crash came from upstairs. The power flickered out for a moment and Alex screamed as she grabbed a hold of her cousin's leg as Traci tried to keep her body from shaking all over. This was not okay. The power slowly returned a moment later, but both girls remained frozen in place, looking upstairs in silent terror.

"What was that?" Alex's voice was panic-stricken.

Traci was running through several scenarios in her head—none of which were pleasant—as she tried to come to a logical response. She breathed out a small sigh of annoyance as realization dawned on her that she'd forgotten to lock up the attic windows. She mentally cursed herself for not thinking of that earlier when the storm hadn't been at its peak.

"I guess the wind blew open one of the windows in the attic," Traci said putting up a good front.

She _hated _the attic. After a very bad incident when she was six caused her to get '_lost_' up there for a whole hour she'd avoided the clutter death trap as much as possible. Traci knew her fears were out of childish insecurities, but it still freaked her out today and she was not looking forward to venturing back up into that dismal space with minimal lighting.

"You stay down here and watch the end of the movie." Traci commanded lightly as she shuffled through the kitchen looking for the big flashlight. There were some lights upstairs, but she preferred to have something heavy she could smash into anything creepy she found upstairs. Like spiders or centipedes. Traci made a humorous jolt as she tried to shake the image of the slimy buggers crawling all over her skin.

"No way!" Alex clamored around the couch after her cousin. "I'm not staying down here alone, what if you die up there and I'm left to smell your stinky mess of a body?"

"I don't know whether to be touched or insulted," Traci said picking up a flashlight and walking towards the stairs.

"Traci, don't leave me down here, it's scary!" The eight year old cried in dismay as she attached herself to the bottom half of Traci's body.

"Fine, fine, just grab your boots ok? I don't want you stepping on anything and end up having to take you to the hospital." Traci commented as she slipped on her own shoes. Alex donned her boots and followed her cousin up the flight of stairs to the second level.

The pair stopped in front of the doorway at the end of the hall which led up to the third floor. She pulled open the door which squeaked open and flicked on the hallway light which revealed the stairs that led up to the third floor. As they ascended the stairs, Traci unconsciously clutched her flashlight a little tighter and tried not squeak in terror when the main overhead light didn't turn on.

_This has stupid movie heroine written all over it,_ Traci thought as she scanned her flashlight across the room.

The attic was a grimy place filled with dust and cobwebs. It was the storage facility of old photos, heirlooms, baby toys, antiques, and collective junk that Traci's family had accumulated over the years living in the old Victorian home that her mother just had to have and the family couldn't live in for six months because it needed total renovation. Traci's mother Meredith had said that the attic gave the house a bit of mysterious air and grandeur. Traci considered it a breeding place for the gross and disgusting insects which lived in dark unsuspecting corners. She frowned as she stomped on one of those said disgusting critters and tried to pinpoint the source of the bang.

She heard the howl of wind coming from her left where she could hear the rapid flutter of a window banging against the inside of the house and moved in that direction with Alex clutching her t-shirt in one of her tight little fists so as not to left alone in the darkness of the attic.

They were moving along steadily until Alex screamed wildly and pulled her cousin back as she gestured wildly to something in the corner.

"It's Barbossa!" The child screamed as Traci whipped around, nearly wetting her pants as her flashlight came to rest on a mess of clothes stuck to a mannequin from her mother's previous adventures in fashion design. The girl and woman breathed hard as they stared at the offending object while their heart rates returned to normal.

"Alexandra Marie, if you were anyone but my cousin I would so hurt you now." Traci huffed but she breathed a sigh of relief. "I knew we should have waited to let you see that movie."

"I'm sorry, Traci," Alex's voice was so heartbreaking that Traci couldn't help but feel sorry for the kid.

"It's alright, my little captain." She patted Alex's head. "Let's just find the problem and we can go back downstairs." Alex nodded slowly, following Traci quietly.

The problem was easily found and there was a river of rain rushing through the open window as the frame holding the glass banged against the inside of the nook. Traci shoved the flashlight into her cousin's hand and gasped at the cold of the rain water splattering across her face. She reached out for the window and pushed hard against the incoming wind while coughing out water. She muttered a small string of curses which she hoped that Alex had not heard and was able to get the window closed, latching it tightly. She wiped the rain water from her face, spitting out a leaf that had gotten sucked into her mouth and shivered as the cold overcame her.

"There," she said wiping her damp hands on her jeans. "Problem solved! Let's go down and watch the-" Traci stopped speaking as she looked around. Alex had vanished into the darkness.

_Not vanished, _Traci assured herself to keep calm._ She's just looking around. _

"Alex?" Traci called out uncertainly into the foreboding darkness.

"Traci! Traci, come quick!"Alex was screeching. Fearing the worst, Traci bolted toward the sound of Alex's voice.

"Alex-" Traci stumbled as she rounded a corner and did a face plant on the wood floor. She looked around wildly through strands of her soaking wet hair and saw Alex was peering over something not a few from her. "Alex?"

"Look at this!" Alex cried excitedly as she turned her flashlight into the object. Traci grunted and crawled over to what Alex was looking at. "Isn't it cool?"

It was bloody brilliant actually. Traci grabbed the flashlight from her cousin as she inspected the small, black triple mastered sailing ship that was leaning against a few boxes beside it. Water pooled around the object and Traci frowned as she reached out to touch the moist ground, wondering how the water had gotten in if they were nowhere near the window.

"I've never seen this before…" Traci murmured as she looked above her head for a moment to see if there was a leak in the roof.

"Doesn't it look like the Black Pearl?" Alex ran her fingers over the ships haul as her eyes took in every detail.

"I didn't know we had this, maybe Eric made it…he hasn't been into models for a while though." Traci also never remembered him creating something so elaborate. If he had, her older brother would have been the first to boast about it. He would not have kept something like this a secret.

"Look Traci, it came with action figures!" Alex pointed into the captain's quarters were a very well done Jack Sparrow action figure sat pouring over a map. Traci shined her flashlight into the cabin and suddenly the action figure reeled back in fright.

"Oy! I'm not dead yet!" He called out.

"It talks!" Alex cried.

Traci pulled back her flashlight as she took in a sharp breath. That was not natural. The Jack action figure started yelling out orders and _walked _out to the deck, without help from anyone or anything.

"On deck you scabrous dogs!" The Jack action figure yelled. He looked up and saw the blinking, bright faces of Alex and Traci staring back at him. Without another word he screamed, causing Traci to fall back in shock and for Alex to squeal in delight.

"Will!" Jack yelled running below decks. "Giants! Big ones with squishy faces!" A moment later he reappeared with William Turner who at the sight of Alex and Traci pulled out his sword while shock riddled his facial features.

"You weren't lying," The William Turner action figure said. Traci squeaked as he spoke and pulled back a little.

"Alex, perhaps we better leave…" Traci murmured as she reached out for her cousin's arm. These action figures were far too lifelike for her tastes, in fact if she didn't consider herself one very sane woman she would have actually considered that the little things before her were actually living, breathing people.

"Wow, this so cool! I call Jack!" Alex ignored her cousin's outcries as she scooped up the pirate captain with her little fingers.

"Oy! Put me down ye giant cannibal!" Jack pulled out his sword in an attempt to defend himself and stabbed the poor little girl in the finger causing Alex to cry out in pain and to drop Jack back on his deck with a small thud.

"Traci."Alex whined. "Jack hurt me!" Tears started to well in the eight year old's eyes as small droplet of blood appeared on her index finger."Don't hurt my cousin, you're only six inches tall!" Traci chortled, flicking Jack in the side, and sending him flying into the ship's mast.

"Oy! That's not very nice." Jack started to fling his little pirate sword at her.

Traci ignored the pirate captain and the very strange little ship with the far too realistic action figures and ran out of the attic with Alex in tow. The moment they made it back downstairs Traci slammed the door shut to the attic and pressed her whole body across the door as though that would help block out the strange and unusual beings upstairs. She slowly slid to the ground and crossed herself three times as her mind tried to process what had just happened.

"It's not possible," she said.

"It's awesome!" Alex said with a smile as she sucked on her finger.

Traci watched her cousin for a moment before getting up off the floor and leading her into the guest bathroom where the first aid kit was. As she placed her cousin on the counter top and set about fixing her wound, Traci felt like her eyes were deceiving her. That thing, whatever it was, had stabbed her cousin with an actual sharp instrument.

"I don't know if I like Jack Sparrow anymore." Alex pouted but Traci was too lost in her own mind to really take much stock in what her cousin was saying. Her rational side was telling her that she must have bumped her head or was suffering from some weird hallucination while the other part of her mind realized how real they looked, how her cousin was bleeding, and how Jack's flesh had felt warm in the instance her fingers had grazed across his abdomen as she flicked him. Maybe finals really had taken a toll on her mind.

"Traci?" Alex questioned.

"Yes?" Traci's voice was breathy as she sat on the toilet lid biting her nails while she was in deep thought.

"Can I keep Jack?" Alex's smile was broad and wide, showing a few of her baby teeth were missing.

"You most certainly cannot!" Traci found herself replying. "Those…things, whatever they are, are going to stay up there forever."

"That's not fair, Traci," Alex said sounding heartbroken at the prospect. "Jack was just a'scared that's all. I'm sure if we're really nice we can get him to calm down some!"

"No." Traci shook her head as she stood up. "Those things are beyond human comprehension. I don't even know what to call them."

"They're people just like me and you!" Alex stamped her little foot as she jumped off the counter top. "And I intend to rescue them!"

"No, absolutely not!" Traci felt a surge of panic rising in her chest. "There will be no rescuing off the little people!" Alex crossed her arms over her chest.

"Captain America would rescue the little people," Alex said referring to one of Traci's favorite heroes from the newest Marvel movie surge. "He cares for the underdog."

Traci found it slightly amusing that her eight year old cousin had learned the proper usage of the world underdog, but she wasn't so amused with getting a lecture.

"Alex, Captain America is a fictional character," Traci said. "You can't compare him to me."

"So? He would save the little Jack and Will," Alex said as her eyes narrowed into slits. "We must save them from the attic."

"We will not," Traci said crossing her arms over her chest feeling completely ridiculous that she was arguing about this unnatural phenomenon growing in her closet.

"Fine," Alex said stomping off. "Then I will do it alone." Just as she reached the door to open it Traci jumped in the way and braced herself against the door like a frightened cat. She knew her cousin wouldn't relent and she had to admit that she was more than just a little curious about what to do with these people who now occupied her home.

"If it's important to you, we'll go save the little people," Traci said turning to open the attic door with a reluctant sigh.

Alex beamed up at her as the pair went back up the stairs, flashlight at the ready. They made their way through the attic until they came upon the small, triple mastered sailing ship yet again where Jack and Will were still out on the front deck, this time looking around with cautious eyes.

"Come back fer round two, eh?" Jack brandished his sword.

"We want to help you," Alex said kneeling down in front of him.

"Help? I don't need help! I've gotten out of worse situations than this!" Jack gestured wildly.

"You're six inches tall and stuck in my attic." Traci reasoned with the pirate captain. "I think you need a little help." She pinched her fingers together ever so slightly at the word 'little'.

"So says you," Jack said. "But perhaps you're really a giant and don't know and I am actually of normal size and stature." He gestured to himself in some grandiose way that made Alex giggle.

"Jack, stop it. We have no idea where we are and we need help." Will sheathed his sword and inclined his head in a polite gesture. "Can you tell us where we are Ms…?"

"Traci Trinidad." The brunette gestured to herself. "This is my cousin Alexandra and you're in California."

"California!" Jack exclaimed and looked around wearily. "That would mean we're in Spaniard territory! I'm not fond of Spaniards." Traci tried not to smirk at the thought of why and coughed.

"The Spaniards have long since gone, Captain," Traci said. "You're in the United States of America now."

"Wha's that?" Jack questioned.

"A larger version of the thirteen colonies," Traci said. History may have not been her forte but it was most assuredly implanted in her brain for occasions somewhat like this one. Not that she would ever have imagined this exact sort of conflict. She rubbed her temples. She was going to give herself a headache with all these conflicting, irrational ideas.

"Oh, you be meanin' those blokes who went against the ol' king," Jack said. "Well why didn't you say so in the first place?" Traci wielded as much patience as she could to not flick Jack again.

"Let's take them downstairs," Alex said."Here." Alex picked up Jack again and placed him in her sweater's breast pocket. "You can stay there for now until we've moved your ship."

Jack stumbled around in Alex's pocket for a while as he tried to gain some balance while Traci held out her hand to Will.

"I promise not to drop you," she said. Will looked reluctant for a moment before he jumped into Traci's hand and was lifted into her jeans pocket. She picked up the small little ship in her arms, holding it much like a baby.

"Alex get the flashlight and lead the way." Traci commanded and Alex saluted her cousin before, much to Jack's horror, skipped all the way out of the attic and bounded down the stairs in her eagerness to see the boat float.

Traci made her way much more carefully down the stairs, grunting in annoyance at how heavy the wooden masterpiece was. When she got down to the second floor she had an internal debate on where to put it. If she left it in the bathroom her family would surely find it and even though her parents were open-minded people she wasn't sure whether they could handle this kind of change so she moved to her room where she hoped it wouldn't be too much of a mess and leaned the ship against her rounded window seat where it was haphazardly lightened by the streaks of lightning in the sky before Alex turned on the overhead light and placed Jack back on his ship. After Traci had secured the ship so that it wouldn't suddenly tip over she gently pulled Will out of her pocket with vivid thoughts of her best friend Alyssa saying: "Now you can say Will Turner has been in your pants!"

Will looked around the room with wonder and Traci blushed when she noticed that her bed was unmade and there were heaps of clothing scattered everywhere along with papers she had collected over the course of her school year.

"Sorry about the mess," she said with a sheepish grin, but he waved her off.

"Your room is quite different from Elizabeth's," Will said. Traci raised an eyebrow at him and smiled.

"And how would you know what Elizabeth's room looks like?" Will colored a light shade of pink.

"Lets' not discuss that," He said as he walked back towards the main part of the deck.

_This is unreal_, Traci thought as she watched the two men from her seat on the ground.

"You guys stay here while I get you food!" Alex beamed happily as she dashed out the door squealing: "I've got my own Jack!"

Traci stared at the ship and figures on it. There was no possible way for any of this to be real at all, it was all so supernatural. Not fit in any way at all too happen…

Her gaze went up as the rain splashed against her window in a harsh wave before another crack of lightning danced across the sky. In the distance there was a loud boom and Traci jumped as the power went out again. She turned as she heard her little cousin scream.

"Traci!" The young girl yelped and Traci grabbed the flashlight that her cousin had dropped on the floor beside the ship.

"Don't move!" she ordered the two pirates.

"Not like we have much of anywhere to go," Jack said sarcastically.

Traci ignored him and scurried downstairs to the kitchen where she found the little girl hiding under the breakfast bar. A broken jar of jelly lay on the ground next to the plastic jar of peanut butter rolled idly around on the floor.

"S-sorry." Alex was shaking all over and Traci reached out and took her hand.

"It's okay," she said and stood up to grab some paper towels to clean up the mess on the floor before throwing the broken jar of jelly away and putting the peanut butter back in the fridge.

"It's been a long day." Traci sat down in front of her cousin whose tears were streaming in rivers down her face. "Why don't we just call it a night and I'll tell you stories until you fall asleep, does that sound okay?"

Alex nodded as she wiped away her tears, reached out, and was pulled into her cousin's awaiting hug. They grabbed a tiny piece of leftover pizza for Will and Jack to share before the two walked back upstairs with Alex's things. After they had changed into their night-clothes, Alex curled up on Traci's bed while the older girl delivered the small bit of food she had to offer to the two pirates.

"Is she alright?" Will inquired when Traci approached the ship

"She'll be okay." Traci looked back at the little girl who was sniffling on the bed. "I'm going to read to her until she falls asleep. Are you two alright?"

"I 'ave no idea how we got here and no idea how to return from whence we came," Jack said. "Seems like any other day with a 'angover." Traci laughed a little at that statement and said her goodnights with the promise that she would try to help them tomorrow even as she thought to herself that she was probably suffering under a very grand delusion.

As she crawled into the bed with her cousin she read tails from the Grimm's fairytale book that she had and brushed her hand through the girl's hair until she fell asleep. Traci glanced over at the ship and noticed a few lights still glinting from the windows just before she shut her eyes.

_Please,_ she thought. _Let this be a dream._


	2. Chapter 2

**Ch. 2 Panic! At the Trinidad House**

Traci woke up shivering cold. Alex had taken all the blankets or had thrown them off the bed while she had slept. The third grader had managed to place her body in such a way that she took up almost all the double bed making Traci sleep on the very edge. Being that it was very early in the morning and no sane person in California wakes up at eight in the morning on a Saturday, Traci's mind was a bit hazy on this concept and when she tried to move into a better place she fell off the bed and landed on the hardwood floor.

Traci burst into awareness as she hissed in pain, grunting as she felt a side-splitting ache creep from her abdomen and up to her shoulder.

"Crap." She muttered sitting up and leaning her head against the side of her bed. Her throat was dry and her eyes felt droopy. Traci sat on her floor and moved her gaze over to the black ship that was leaning against her tower window seat.

"This is the part where I wake up and realize it was all just a strange dream." She looked up at the ceiling and snapped her eyes shut. She counted for twenty seconds before opening up one eye and letting it swivel over to the tower window seat. The ship was still there—tiny as ever.

Traci sighed in her usual dramatic way and lurched up from the floor. She tumbled over toward her door and threw on the robe that was hanging from it. She shuffled downstairs into the kitchen where she went about opening up the blinds to see what the world was like outside. The storm had passed as quickly as it had come and left a few broken branches and a lot of mud in the Trinidad's backyard. Not to mention the couple or so bushes that had become dislodged from their roots the night before.

Traci didn't doubt for a second that the streets were probably flooded and there were power lines down. She picked up her home phone and got nothing on the line.

_ Bad day for telemarketers_, she thought as got a glass of orange juice for herself and decided to check her email; that is, if the power was working. She slid into her parents' office and flopped into the roller chair and booted up the computer finding that it worked quite even if the phone line didn't.

Traci signed into her messenger and was hit by a message from Alyssa Lavine, aka: her best friend.

Adorable Alyssa says: The storm hit you bad?  
Dinosaurs Rock says: Not too bad, house is intact. Backyard will need some work.  
Adorable Alyssa says: Lucky . My house is leaking again. I'm now sharing a room with Denise which blows big time.  
Dinosaurs Rock says: You can crash out here if you want; the guest bedroom is always available.  
Adorable Alyssa says: Nahhhh. Parents would go insane without me. I'm the only who makes any type of contribution to this family.  
Dinosaurs Rock says: LOL, don't I know it.  
Adorable Alyssa says: Well has anything exciting happened to you since school?  
Dinosaurs Rock says:…Um, well…  
Adorable Alyssa says: Woah, something did happen?! You didn't get drunk and have wild, unprotected sex?  
Dinosaurs Rock says: NOOOO! Absolutely not!  
Adorable Alyssa says: Well then what?! You say nothing exciting ever happens to you!  
Dinosaurs Rock says: It's something I'd prefer to tell you in person  
Adorable Alyssa says: …Are you kidding me?!You can't leave me in suspense! Trinidad you HAVE to tell me now!  
Dinosaurs Rock says: Sorry Aly, maybe you can come over later today if the roads are in decent shape. I'm sure Alex would love to see you.  
Adorable Alyssa says: My favorite munchkin is there?! Whooop! I'll see if I can make it and if your exciting thing is lame I have the right of a best friend to slap you.  
Dinosaurs Rock says: LOL I assure you it's far from lame….I think. We'll see how things play out first and then maybe I'll tell you.  
Adorable Alyssa says: WHAT?! You're debating on whether to tell me something. You should have just told me that nothing happened at all if you're not even planning to tell me anything  
Dinosaurs Rock says: LOL Sorry Alyssa, we'll see how things work ok? Just come on over if you can, alright? I promise to have those cookies you love if you still come over.  
Adorable Alyssa says:…The ones with the big chunks of chocolate?  
Dinosaurs Rock says: You bet!  
Adorable Alyssa says: Fine! You're lucky I would rather face flooded streets then stay within the confines of my room with Denise.  
Dinosaurs Rock says: Yay!  
Adorable Alyssa says: Freakin A!  
Dinosaurs Rock says: What?  
Adorable Alyssa says: My sister thought it was a truly brilliant idea to throw a pair of her heels at one of my shelves and knocked down everything on it. I'll text you later. Bye! (Adorable Alyssa appears to be offline)

Traci knew that Alyssa would be at it for hours with her sister Denise. The two girls were complete opposites and living in one room with extremely different views on how one should dress, decorate, talk, and act could only end with the two girl's at each other's throats. Traci was beyond certain that her friend would be over as soon as possible, no matter what the weather was like outside.

Her stomach made a Chewbaca whine/gurgle and she left her email for the kitchen to find something edible. Pancakes seemed like a decent idea. It was her ritual to make them for Alex when she was over as it was around the only time she got to eat them. Traci's Aunt Deborah, a true valley girl from Orange County, did not clean, cook, or handle any day to day chores. The woman wouldn't have known how to turn on a burner let alone cook an egg. It would not surprise Traci if the woman didn't know how to boil water. Every time Traci heard about Deborah's lack of skills in anything other shopping and looking good it just seemed like more proof that her Uncle Greg, God love him, had thought more with the head between his legs than the one between his ears.

"Traci!" Alex's voice echoed from upstairs.

"I'm in the kitchen." Traci called back to her cousin as she tried to banish her negative thoughts. Her blackened mood over her aunt should not affect the rest of her time with Alex.

As Traci busied herself with pouring the batter she heard the delicate footfalls of her cousin come downstairs and briefly turned to see the girl carrying both Jack and Will in her hands. She set them down on the kitchen peninsula and sat down at the breakfast bar, swinging her legs back and forth and allowing them to make dull thuds against the wood cabinet the counter top was built upon. While her cousin cooed and spoke to Jack and Will—the former regaling her with PG rated tales of his adventures while Traci made the pancakes and then dished them out on plates for everyone.

Jack speared one of the small bits of sugary bread he and will had been given with his sword and looked at it askance when it was placed before him.

"What is this?" He raised an eyebrow.

"A pancake," Traci said. "Try it, you'll like it." His cursory fear was soon replaced with awe and with renewed vigor, probably from sugar overload, he launched into the tale he had told Alex earlier.

"…So there I was," Jack said. "Righ' before the Krakken, whose breath alone could knock ye out cold but not Cap'n Jack Sparrow."

"Is it because you're not prone to fainting?" Traci inquired with a smile and wink to Will.

"Pirates don't faint, unless you're the whelp course I 'aven't seen 'im faint yet," Jack said. "The story s'not about Will though! The Krakken ate me!"

"That's not possible,"Alex scoffed.

"And why not?" Jack looked affronted at the statement.

"Cause you'd be teeny-tiny pieces!" Alex pointed out. "You should be dead!"

"Tha' doesn't matter," Jack waved her off. "I wasn't finished anyways."

"Well keep going then!"Alex ordered stuffing more pancake bit into her mouth. Jack sighed; he was not used to children in the least bit.

"Do you know what Davy Jones ' Locker is?" he questioned her.

"Oh! They had that on Spongebob Squarepants!" Alex said. "It's supposed to be filled with sweaty gym socks!"

"I don't know what yer watchin' but that's not what Davy Jones' Locker is," Jack said. "It's a pirate worst fate, crueller than death if you can imagine that. I was on a ship and there were thirty more of me-"

"There were clones of you!" Alex interrupted. "That is so cool!"

Traci frowned, well at least she knew which point Jack had come in from the movie timeline, did Will come through at the same time?

_ He would have had to_, Her mind judged. _How else would they have wound up on the same ship together?__  
_  
"It was a bloomin' hot day," Jack went on. "The ship started sailin' over sand dunes and I wound up meetin' wit' the rest of me crew, Barbossa, Tia Dalma, Elizabeth, and the whelp. We got on the Pearl you see-"

"Then why aren't they here with you?" Traci asked.

"I don't know, mate," Jack said. "But 'ere we are!" He gestured grandly.

"Well I'm glad you're here," Alex said while Traci remained concerned. She could see that Will didn't find this side trip anymore amusing than she did and wondered how he was reacting being separated from anything he knew. He'd been awfully quiet since his arrival.

_Maybe he needs pirate therapy,_ Traci thought and then frowned when she heard her front door opening and then the shouts of her mother Meredith Trinidad coming from the doorway.

"Traci! Alex!" There was a scuffle and before Traci could move to bar their entrance into the kitchen her parents stood there both relieved at the sight of their daughter and niece intact.

"Oh thanks heavens!" Meredith rushed up and kissed each girl before smiling at the sight of the small figures. "Are these your new toys, Alex?"

"They're really well done," Robert said cocking his head to the side at the sight of Jack and Will.

"We're not toys," Will said before Traci could stop him.

_3…2…1…_Traci counted in her head and winced when her mother screamed and jumped into her husband's arms.

"It's okay!" Alex said. "They're harmless."

"Mom, calm down." Traci tried to soothe the hysterical woman.

"What are those things?" Meredith's pitch was at the point of hysterics. Gone was the usually clam interior designer and business owner now replaced by a five year old. Traci would have almost been amused if she hadn't understood her terror.

""We found them in the attic, in that ship over there," Traci said getting out of her mother's grasp. "In a ship that is now in my room. We don't know how they got here."

Robert and Meredith Trinidad moved closer to the counter top and stared wide-eyed at the creatures eating pancakes in their kitchen. Robert reached out a finger and poked Jack who swiped at him with his sword, but missed.

"Why are you people always pokin' me?" Jack looked perturbed and at that moment Meredith Trinidad couldn't take it anymore and fainted onto the floor of her kitchen.

_So much for a sense of normality, _Traci thought with a sigh.

"Breathe, honey, just breathe!" Robert said (probably more for his own benefit than Meredith's) as he picked up the woman and laid her down on the living room couch with Traci and Alex, who had the two men in her little hands, walking right behind him.

"What are those things?" Robert balanced himself on the edge of the couch while he examined his wife.

"They're people like you and me Uncle Robert," Alex said with a determined stance. "This ones Will Turner and you've already met Jack!"

"We found them in the attic, in that ship that's upstairs in my room," Traci said. "We don't know how they got here."

Robert fanned his wife trying to make sense of this thing that seems to only pop up in the National Inquirer next to tales about Bigfoot. He looked pale and Traci walked over to the couch and rested a hand on his shoulder, giving in a gentle squeeze of reassurance.

"Dad, I know this is tough now, but we really need to know what to do here," Traci said. "These guys eat, and they drink. They talk and walk. They're real."

"They're also disturbing!" Robert said. "And your mother fainted! She never faints. It's all that hooey about being brought up in a home with seven children, four of which were boys stuff. Your mother, doesn't faint and she's fainted. I can't believe my wife fainted." His eyes were wide as he babbled on.

"She'll be ok, Dad, Jack's a shocking little man now," Traci said.

"They need to go back," Robert said.

"No!" Alex cried. "You can't take Jack from me!"

"Now, Alex, please calm down." Robert let out an exasperated breath of air. "We can't keep them like pets. It's not natural!"

_Ding Dong._

"Go get the door Traci," Robert ordered as he walked towards his niece who was backing away from him. "Maybe I can get these things back up to the attic and we can discuss this rationally."

"Dad, I'm not entirely sure this is such a good idea," Traci said. "Alex is really attached to those guys, especially Jack and besides, if we just put them up there, there is no telling if they actually leave or not."

_Ding Dong. Ding Dong._

"Traci, go answer the door. We'll talk about this later" Robert ordered again.

"But, Dad, we've got to talk about this, whoever is down there can wait-"

_Ding Dong. Ding Dong. DING DONG! DING DONG!_

Meredith slowly rose up from the couch with a groan of pain as the sounds of the impending argument and doorbell roused her into the world.

"What happened?" Meredith asked wearily as Robert, Traci, and Alex went to her side.

"You fainted," Everyone said.

"What are you talking about? I don't faint!" Meredith scoffed. "I grew up in a family of seven children, four of which were boys-"

"We know!" Everyone said.

_DING DONG! DING DONG! DING DONG! DING DONG! DING DONG!_

"SHE'S COMING!" Everyone yelled as Robert shoved his daughter towards the front door. After stumbling on the hem of her robe a bit Traci flung the door open and a rather disgruntled looking Alyssa, with a bag sitting on the ground, and backpack on her back stood before her.

"Hi, I'm here to get away from my crazy family," she said quickly making her way inside. "So what on earth are you keeping secret?"

"TRACI!" Meredith screamed as she jumped to the other side of the couch while Robert tried to console her. "Your new pets moved!"

"Whoa, didn't know your folks would be home," Alyssa said. "Did you get a snake or something?"

"Not exactly…" Traci trailed off. Alex came bounding up to the girls.

"Traci, Traci, Traci!" she cried. "I don't want Uncle Rob to lock up Jack and Will! Do something!" The two pitiful creatures in her hands looked like they were being squeezed to death.

"Oh, how cute!" Alyssa goggled and prodded the Will one.

"Don't touch me," Will ordered

"Holy shit it talked!" Alyssa covered her mouth in horror.

"Language," Meredith groaned from her seat.

"Alex, drop them, they can't breathe," Traci said. Alex set down the six-inch living beings and the two men sprinted for the couch.

"They move too!" Alyssa scrambled after them while Meredith just screamed and jumped from the couch to a chair.

"Robert, get those things away from my furniture!" She pointed frantically at the couch while Robert bent down and tried to capture the runaway pirates.

"That was the news you had to tell me?" Alyssa's brown eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and as a blush from fangirl excitement dashed across her caramel colored skin.

Alyssa was speaking in rapid excitement while Robert was trying to convince Jack and Will to get out from under the couch as Meredith continued to scream in horror and Alex whined that she wanted to keep the two figures. That they really were just scared little people who needed a home. Traci leaned against the banister of her home and rubbed the side of her head with her free hand as all this whirling activity raced through her brain.

"Enough!" She finally managed to shout out causing everyone to stop talking. "Enough…" She let out a breath and took a seat on the stairs. "We just need to be calm and think about this rationally which means not scaring Will and Jack anymore. Okay?" At everyone's nod of agreement Traci sighed and walked over to the couch which her father was laying down in front of.

"I surrender!" Jack was waving his hat about from under one of the couches. "I'll give ye the whelp for your dinner if yer like tha'!" A small little ouch was heard as Will kicked Jack for the comment.

"We're not going to hurt you. Just please come out." Traci begged the two men who appeared to weighing their options between the dust bunnies or the crowd of noisy humans. They slowly made their way out from under the piece of furniture so Traci could scoop them up and place them on the coffee table. The adults sat down on the couch watching them while Alex leaned on the coffee table with her chin in her hands looking very amused.

"How did you two get here?" Meredith looked at them curiously.

"We have no idea." Will spoke in a gentle tone to not to scare his new hostess. "We were sailing with our crew and then we found ourselves in your attic as you called it."

"With your daughter's giant squishy face hangin' over me like the Krakken," Jack said.

"Oh every girl's dream: to be compared to an ugly animal in need of a serious dental plan." Traci rolled her eyes while Alyssa laughed at her best friend's expense.

"This is not a laughing matter," Robert said, he took a deep breath and scratched his head. "I don't know what to make of this."

"We're keeping them," Alex said."Traci already said I could Uncle Rob."

"You did?" Robert turned his attentions to Traci who winced a little under his stern look.

"I uh, might have mentioned that we could…yes." Traci gave a faint laugh.

"I don't know about this." Meredith looked unsure.

"Oh come on, Mrs. Trinidad," Alyssa said. "It's not like they're life-size! Six inch little puppies living in Traci's room. They bother anyone."

"Except me." Traci murmured in a low voice.

"Why can't I take them home to my house?" Alex looked inquisitive as she sat on the coffee table next to her new favorite 'pets'.

"I'm not sure that would be a good idea, Alex," Robert said carefully.

"Why not? I know Daddy would love them," Alex said with a smile.

"I know he would," Robert said. "But I uh…" He was at a loss for what excuse he could use for his niece.

"For safety reasons, we'll keep them here," Traci said jumping in for her father. "Besides, if they ever have to return home it should be from where they came from, right?" She looked at everyone who nodded in agreement with vigor.

"Okay…" Alex looked rather dejected but couldn't argue with the entire Trinidad family. "Can I go play upstairs with Jack and Will?

"Of course you can sweet heart," Meredith said gently. The two tiny people in question grumbled a little and then hopped into Alex's tiny hands as they were taken upstairs.

"She's going to tell Deborah and Greg the moment they step through that door to come collect her," Robert said watching his niece go upstairs as he stood up.

"I'll talk to her about it," Meredith said. "But first I think we all need never speak of this." Everyone turned their gaze on the angelic face of Alyssa.

"This is the face of a fangirl. Do you think anyone is really going to believe me if I spout off about this?" She crossed her arms and rose her eyebrow in a sassy challenge.

" Fine. Good," Robert said running his fingers through his black hair that was slowly turning gray.

"This might be a bad moment to ask because you're obviously dealing with some crazy sh—I mean uh…crap right now," Alyssa said cutting herself off before she let out a cuss word. "But my house is damaged and my sister is driving me crazy. Do ya'll mind if I stay here? I mean Traci said it was okay and everything." All eyes reverted to Traci who squirmed under her parents gazes.

"It seemed like a good idea." Traci's voice got higher.

"You can put your things in the guest room, Alyssa," Meredith said with a sigh.

"Thanks Mrs. T," Alyssa smiled brightly.

"You're welcome." Meredith said standing up. "I think I need to go lay down." She gestured to Robert who followed behind his wife with a sigh.

"Don't find any other six inch characters while we're gone. I don't think your mother's nerves can handle it," He said with a small chuckle before grunting in pain as he was whacked in the arm for the joke at his wife's expense causing Traci and Alyssa to laugh.

"I told you," Meredith said. "I don't faint!"

The moment they were gone Alyssa turned around on the couch and rubbed her hands together eagerly.

"You've got to tell me everything," She said reaching for Traci's hand and pulled her upstairs. "I must know what happened from the point you actually found them to today. It's not every day your best friend gets a mini Jack Sparrow and Will Turner in her life." Alyssa paused outside of Traci's bedroom door. "As a matter of fact, this type of thing never happens to anyone that I know of."

"I guess I'm just lucky," Traci said though at the moment that was not what she was feeling at all as they walked into her bedroom and sat down on her bed where she regaled Alyssa with the story as to how she found Will and Jack with as much detail as she could offer.


	3. Chapter 3

**Ch. 3** _**Never A Dull Moment**_

James Trinidad's tired gaze turned up to the Victorian house as he drove into the driveway on Sunday morning. He had managed to finally convince Deborah to return home and she was now at his side in the car fluffing her hair in the mirror before looking down at her '_twins_' that had set back the business man a pretty penny near a month ago.

"I think that doctor made them lopsided," she said.

"Oh." James' voice was devoid of emotion. He had doubted that this new enhancement to his wife's body was for his attention. If anything_,_ James thought they looked a little odd on Deborah's petite frame.

"Are you coming inside?" He asked when they pulled up to the house.

"I'll wait," Deborah said as she pulled out lipstick. "Just make sure Alexandra knows we're in a hurry. I have a banquet for the magazine at _The Rosette_ tonight and I need to get back home and get ready."

"Will you need me?" James asked out of politeness. He didn't want to go. He hated being surrounded by all the pomp as he called it and he was always certain that Deborah didn't really need his presence there.

"No," Deborah said as she applied a new layer of lipstick. "You're not needed."

James shut the door to the BMW and walked up the house with an empty look plastered to his face. His life was not going as planned. He should have it all though: the beautiful wife, the lovely daughter, a huge house, the great job, and the great car, but he was having a hard time concealing the fact that he and Deborah were far from the perfect couple.

Robert had warned him from the start: "That woman will suck the life out of you James." Now, eight years later, the statement was starting to prove true.

He took a deep breath and rang the doorbell, willing a calm look press on his features. Hoping the pinched, annoyed façade he'd been wearing for the entire day had worn off.

"Hi, Uncle Greg." Traci was the one to open the door and she smiled at him before pulling him into a hug which he returned warmly as they moved inside.

"Greg!" Robert waltzed up to his brother and gave him a squeeze making the younger man feeling renewed in spirit. "How's my little brother?"

"Decent," Greg said hoping he gave him a convincing smile because Robert always did seem to know when things were wrong. "How about yourself?"

"Not bad." Robert shrugged with a smile. "Meredith fainted yesterday."

"I did not." Meredith growled like a bear. "I had a blackout spell in which I was seemingly unconscious but it was not fainting."

"We know, dear." Robert smiled and kissed his wife on the temple.

"It's good to see you, Greg." Meredith hugged her brother-in-law and Greg sighed feeling the weight of the day lifting off his shoulders as he greeted his family.

"And you too Meredith," Greg said releasing her from the hug and looking around. "Where's my favorite little girl?"

"Daddy!" Alex sailed down the stairs toward her father who scooped her up into his arms into a tight hug before depositing her on the ground.

"Hey, princess," he said. "Did you have a good time?"

"The best!" Alex cried. "Traci and I found-" Traci coughed and gave Alex a look. "We uh…found some old costumes in the attic and played dress-up."

"Sounds like great fun," James said pleasantly ignoring the look between the two cousins. "Why don't you go upstairs and get your things and we'll go home."

"Do I have to?" Alex was whining.

"Yes, princess, you do," Greg said.

"Don't worry, Alligator, you can come by later this week," Traci said ruffling her hair.

"Actually, Traci." James turned to his niece with a bit of a guilty expression. "Would you be able to watch Alex Wednesday? I have a meeting to attend and Deborah sounded like she was busy."

"Yeah, sure," She said with a small smile. "I'm not scheduled to start working until next week anyways."

"Traci said that she has no social life 'nways Daddy," Alex said running up the stairs to say goodbye to Jack and Will.

"Did she now? Perhaps we lean on you a bit too much, Traci." Greg's features looked incredibly guilty and Traci shook her head to discourage the attitude.

"Oh no, it's fine!" Traci assured the man. "Anything for family."

"Can you stay long?" Robert asked in an eager tone. "Or go to lunch with me?"

"Not right now." A car horn beeped and Greg sighed. "Deborah has some banquet to attend to for the magazine and needs to get home. Perhaps later…" Robert looked a little disheartened but nodded.

"Maybe later then." Robert repeated a phrase that seemed to appear often in conversation with his brother.

"Yeah, maybe." Greg looked a little saddened. Alex came down the stairs with her things, ready to go.

"All set!" Alex hoped down and raced over to her relatives. She hugged everyone goodbye and whispered to Traci before hoping out the door with her father after saying farewell to everyone.

"Hi, Mommy!" Alex raced into the car and Deborah sent the girl a passing glance.

"Hello, dear," she said sounding bored as the little girl started to ramble on and on about how much fun she had that weekend. James watched the interaction as his wife ignored their child while staring at her phone. He glanced at Alex who didn't seem to notice the lack of interest as she smiled as she stared out the car window.

"I really like visiting, Traci," she finally said when they reached home and James took her hand as they walked up the front steps behind Deborah who had dashed inside to get ready. Seeing the wide smile on his daughter's face made James smile and he was grateful that there were a few people in Alex's life making her happy. He was just sad that it wasn't within his own home.

* * *

"What did she say to you?" Meredith asked when the front door closed and the Trinidad family watched the departure of their relatives from the window near the door.

"Just to keep Jack safe for her," Traci said to which Meredith just nodded.

"I hate how he's at Deborah's beck and call," Robert said as he watched the BMW disappear down the street.

"We all do, honey." Meredith walked up behind her husband, wrapping him in a hug, and kissing his cheek. "Maybe he'll finally come to his senses."

"Doubtful." Robert muttered. "Highly doubtful." He sighed heavily and went to fume in his office in private.

"Is he going to be okay?" Traci looked at her mom.

"When your uncle starts to see reason, maybe," she said. "Of course, if we can get our own miniatures of fictional characters I guess anything is possible."

Traci nodded with a smile. Her parents had grown used to the company of Jack and Will over the course of the weekend and though they were still a bit frazzled about the idea of them, neither parent was speaking about banishing them to attic anytime soon.

* * *

"Oh and Alyssa is welcome to stay longer if she needs to," Meredith said. "Just keep us apprised of her family's needs." Traci nodded before bounding up the steps to head back to her bedroom.

Alyssa watched Jack wander around his ship. The tiny figure fascinated her as much he had fascinated Alexandra.

"Did you really get eaten by the Krakken?" She was sitting on the ground cross-legged with her chin in her hands looking enthralled.

"Aye, I did," Jack said.

"That's crazy," Alyssa said moving her hands to the floor behind her and leaning back. "You know there are movies about you."

"Moovees?" Jack looked at her oddly.

"Oh uh…they're…" Alyssa paused. "Movies are like…like paintings, except they move on a screen." Alyssa paused, Jack still looked confused. "We'll just have to show you sometime, I can't explain them. They're really complicated."

"I find tha' 'ard to believe," Jack said.

"So there is no one else in on your ship besides Will, eh?" Alyssa tried to make conversation.

"Unfortunately." Jack grumbled as he walked around the pearl. "Tha' woman of 'is got me killed and he's not very good at conversation at this point. It's all this mournin' 'is lost love stuff."

"Well can you blame him?" Alyssa cocked her head to the side. "She kissed another man and basically blew off their engagement. He's very hurt."

Will had opened up about his predicament the evening before to Traci who had listened attentively while Jack drank rum and stewed over how his beloved was something like sordid wench. Will had almost killed him for that comment.

"So you lose one lass, ye can always find another." Jack shrugged.

"I assume you know this from experience," Alyssa said.

"Look, there are thousands of women out there and if they wish need ravishing then I'm available," Jack said.

"Did you ever think about settling on one girl?" Alyssa thought briefly to Angelica who seemed as close to anything Jack would ever get to a wife or close loved one.

"Why?" Jack looked a bit wary at the idea.

"Because it could be nice to return home to same person who loves you outright and doesn't care what your mistakes you've made. Not having to impress women over and over with great feats. Isn't that exhausting after a while?"

"Love." Jack interrupted her rambling speech. "Who am I?"

"Jack Sparrow-"

"Ah, ah, ah." Jack wagged his finger in the air and Alyssa sighed heavily.

"Captain Jack Sparrow."

"There we go!" Jack grinned. "I do great feats all the time! S'not a worry to me if I can't impress someone, I know I can and the same person over and over s'not comforting, love, it's boring." Alyssa just shook her head with a sigh wanting to pat him on the head like he was a puppy. The man would never change.

"Alyssa, Mom said you could stay a couple more days if you need too," Traci said walking into the room.

"Remind me to get them something nice for Christmas," Alyssa said.

"Will do," Traci said sitting next to her. "How's the dumb one?"

"Now, Traci, don't insult the man's intelligence," Alyssa said. "He might develop short man complex."

"Oy, I'm not short!" Jack yelled.

"You're only six inches tall." Alyssa pointed out. "That makes you short." Jack pulled out his sword and proceeded to try to stab Alyssa.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Traci intercepted the feisty little man and took away his sword. "No skewering my best friend or I'll do something worse than flick you!"

"You can try," Jack said. Traci growled in annoyance and shoved him inside his little captain's quarters and barricaded the door with her fist.

"Oh Traci, honestly." Alyssa sighed as Jack yelled to the high heavens within his confines.

"What?" Traci stared at her best friend. "He was going to hurt you!"

"Girl, I am twenty-one years old, I think I can handle a six-inch little midget like Jack." Alyssa argued. "Now let him go…"

Traci looked un-relenting for a moment before removing her hand from the door and plopping Jack's sword on the ship's deck.

"You never let me have any fun." Traci pouted.

"Sure I do." Alyssa pinched Traci's cheek. "You'd have no life it weren't for me. Now stop complaining about it and tell me all the great and invigorating secrets of your life."

"This I got to 'ear," Jack said.

"You're not invited," Traci flicked the captain's hat off. "Go sword play with Will or something."

"'e's not around," Jack said. "And the whelp doesn't know 'ow to fight like a pirate."

"I'm sure." Traci dead panned. "Where is Will anyways?"

"Down there." Jack pointed to the space under Traci's bed.

"You know I could put him on top of your bed, you could always say you had Will Turner in bed." Alyssa smirked.

"Alyssa, you are disgusting," Traci said.

"You tend to have a sick sense of humor when you live with Denise." Alyssa cringed at the thought of her sister. "At least you've got the sane sibling."

"I hardly consider Eric sane." Traci crawled over to her bed and looked under it. "Will, are you under here?"

"Yes…" The figure moved in the darkness next to a red high heel. She gasped at the sight of it.

"So that's where my red stiletto went." Traci reached out and grabbed the shoe. "I haven't seen this baby since homecoming." Will coughed as a small cloud of dust rose under the bed. "Perhaps you better come out dude."

"I think you're right." Will wheezed as he staggered out and flopped on the ground next to Traci. Traci picked him up gently and brought him back to the Black Pearl.

"Well now what?" Alyssa asked. "They're like pets..." She paused. "But they don't fetch or roll over or play on a hamster wheel-" She stopped and then laughed. "Though that would be quite funny to watch."

"Listen guys," Traci turned her green eyes on the two males. "I'm not exactly sure what we could do if you need to be entertained but if you do need anything just yell or something."

"Love, you got anything like Tortuga around 'ere?" His rolled the ends of moustache and squinted his eyes a bit.

"No," Traci said. "And that's one request I refuse to fulfill."

"Tough luck, old boy." Alyssa quipped flicking her black hair over her shoulder. "So when are you going to see Peter?"

"Who's Peter?" Jack asked.

"No one you need to know," Traci said.

"It's her boyfriend of almost a year," Alyssa said.

"Why do you betray me so?" Traci asked.

"What? Like a six-inch figure is going to do anything to you or Peter," Alyssa said. "Besides, it's not like he won't find out later." Traci let out an annoyed sigh.

"What about Peter though?" Traci asked.

"Traci." Alyssa grabbed her friend's hands and clasped them. "I know you think you and wonder boy are great together but I'm telling you that it isn't right that he hasn't called you or texted you in so long."

"Alyssa, things between Peter and I are fine. He's just been working really hard and we've both had to take a step back for a bit to get our bearings straight," Traci said.

"Mmm-hmm." One of Alyssa's eyebrows quirked upward."What about that girl he keeps mentioning to you?"

"Renee? She's fine. They're just lab partners," Traci said with a scowl. "I met the girl. She's perfectly pleasant."

"She sounds a little too friendly if you ask me," Alyssa said. "Especially since she's following her 'just lab partner' back to San-Fran. That doesn't strike you as weird?"

"It's weird, but I trust him," Traci said with a sigh. "I refuse to act like the wigged out-jealous girlfriend type. Been there, done that."

"I'm just saying, Traci, that I think you need to watch it," Alyssa said.

"Well I think you're wrong and that you need to drop it," Traci said.

"But Traci-"

"Alyssa, please." The two friends got into a staring contest until Alyssa relented.

"Fine, we'll deal with it another day."

"Thank you," Traci said sincerely.

"Girls," Meredith knocked on the door.

"Come in," the two echoed.

"Traci," Meredith poked her head in the doorway. "Your father and I are going out to make sure your grandparents are doing well. We'll be home around dinner time. There's lasagna in the freezer for dinner. Start cooking it around 4:30 please."

"Will do. We'll see you later," Traci said. Meredith smiled and disappeared out the door.

"I say when the parents are away, the kids should play." Alyssa grinned broadly as she stood up. "I want to go up to the attic."

"Why? There's nothing else up there except some junk." Traci stood up looking a little confused.

"Do you call Jack and Will junk?" Alyssa placed her hands on her hips. "Maybe there are gremlins up there or an elf or an entire city or an Indian or a vampire or-"

"Stop while you're ahead." Traci put her hand up.

"Come on Traci," Alyssa smiled. "What's the harm in looking?"

Traci thought for a moment; would it be so awful just to look? It wasn't storming or anything and it was hard to believe that there could possibly be anything else up there that was living or breathing.

"I guess it couldn't hurt to look," Traci consented.

"Yes!" Alyssa punched the air. "We're going on an adventure!"

"You sure she's all there in the head?" Will asked Traci.

"I'm not entirely sure anymore," Traci stated as Alyssa danced around the room. "But it's never a dull moment with Alyssa around."


	4. Chapter 4

**Ch. 4 **_**Surprise**_

Traci eyes were riveted to the stairs that led up to the attic. Alyssa was already climbing up them, eager to see if there would be any more surprises lurking about the dust filled room. It was all a game to Alyssa but to Traci it was more like a possible problem. She wasn't sure if she wanted to find any more surprises. Jack and Will seemed like a good enough deal in and of themselves.

"Traci August Trinidad, get your white-ass up here. We've got exploring to do!" Alyssa beckoned to her friend with Jack in her palm who was sitting down watching the exchange between friends.

"If my chucks weren't so special to me I'd throw them at you." Traci grunted as she marched upwards to the stairs where Alyssa stood. Will was in Traci's hand, curious to see if they would find anything else from their own world.

Alyssa rushed toward one side of the attic, a bundle of energy. Traci remained sluggish and slow as she shuffled around the attic looking at the accumulated junk her parents were storing up around here.

"They really are pack rats," Traci said out loud, placing Will on her shoulder and find the arrangement odd. It made him seem like a pet parrot of sorts.

"Pack rats?" Will frowned at the word. "I don't think your parents look like rats."

"It's a more modern term." Traci explained. "It basically means people take a lot of things and then store them away because even though they may or may not need them. I think the pack rat is an actual animal but I'm not sure."

"Things here are strange," Will said into her ear.

"Tell me about it," Traci murmured as Alyssa started singing _Popular_ from the musical _Wicked_. Traci had to admit that the girl had a great set of lungs, but she was just not in the mood.

"Enough, Glinda." Traci ordered from the other side of the attic. "They can hear you in San Francisco."

"Just San Francisco?" Alyssa gasped, mock appalled. "I want them to hear me in Tibet woman!"

"I call them as I hear them," Traci said, sidestepping a box. "Have you found anything?"

"No." Alyssa called back truly disappointed.

"I told you there was nothing up here," Traci said as the two girls regrouped on the other side of the attic.

"Yeah I know but still," Alyssa shook her head. "Just the Black Pearl, Will, and Jack coming into your attic just seems unlikely. I really think that some of the other characters came."

"Sorry Alyssa," Traci said.

"I refuse to give up," Alyssa said.

"Are you going to stay up here and keep looking?" Traci asked.

"Yes," Alyssa said.

"Well, don't break anything then," Traci told her. "I'm going downstairs to clean my room and figure out where to put the pearl."

"In the bathtub?" suggested Alyssa.

"I'd like to be able to use the shower regularly, thank you," Traci said.

"That makes sense." Alyssa consented. "Jack , you wanna stick with me?"

"S'not like I 'ave anything else to do." Jack was grim and Alyssa patted him on the hat. "I swear it gets better soon," she said to him. "Just wait till Traci's birthday and then the fourth of July, Mrs. Trinidad's family is crazy!"

"Just cause grandma likes to hide a flask of Gin in her garter does not mean my mother's family is crazy." The seriousness of the statement was lost when a smile started tugging at the corner of Traci's lips.

"I love your grandma, especially when she tells Deborah like it is," Alyssa said looking down at Jack. "One time when the Trinidad's and the O'Hara clans got together and Deborah was of course acting like she knew everything, well Grandma O'Hara shot that woman down faster than Superman can travel around the world. See apparently Aunty Debs hadn't been paying very good attention to Alex and the kid, who was only like what…four at the time?"

"Yeah four." Traci confirmed remembering the incident Alyssa was talking about.

"Well Alex was in the kitchen, unsupervised because her mom thought that just putting her in a play pen would suffice or something." Alyssa went on. "Anyways, Alex was in the kitchen and being a little kid she had explored and she had gotten a hold of a knife that had been lying out on a counter top. She actually cut her palm open right before Grandma O'Hara came in, the poor kid was stitched up immediately and O'Hara screamed at Deborah telling her she was a bad parent and all these other things that we were told to never, ever, ever, ever say."

"Your aunt sounds horrible," Will said to Traci.

"You should see her on her off days." Traci murmured with a sigh. "I'm going downstairs, call me if you see anything though I doubt you will."

"I will keep the faith that their are little people lost in this mess you call an attic," Alyssa said. Traci did not respond and simply waved before making her way downstairs leaving her friend behind. The pair went back to Traci's room where she had deposited the Pirate back on his ship while she sat on her window seat nearby to read one the books she wanted to cross off her ever growing book-bucket-list. This time it was _The Three Musketeers_.

She was making a few notes in the margins and highlighting a few things when she noticed Will watched her while he sharpened his blade.

"Are you bored?" Traci inquired, glancing at Will who shrugged.

"I'm fine." He assured her.

"Ok," Traci said, continuing to highlight things in her book as they lapsed into silence for another stretch.

"What are you reading?" Will felt a little silly for interrupting especially when her face went from the intense mask of someone concentrating to one of distracted relaxation after one is drawn away from work.

"_The Three Musketeers_ by Alexandre Dumas." Traci informed him. "You might be interested in it actually."

"What's it about?" Will pressed on. Perhaps he was bored after all.

"Heroes trying to save the King of France." Traci told him simply and seeing his curious expression said: "Here, I'll read it to you."

Traci picked will up from the ship and placed him on top of a pillow on her seat before she flipped to the beginning of the book and cleared her throat as she began the lavish tale.

* * *

Alyssa placed Jack on a nearby container while she hunted around through the various boxes stuffed to the point of exploding near her.

"So…" She started glancing at Jack briefly. "Have you ever been to America before?"

"No," Jack said. "Though I once knew a pirate w'o said the colonies were crazy."

"Well America is a bit bigger than just the thirteen colonies," Alyssa said.

"'ow big is it then?" Jack asked.

"Fifty states," Alyssa told him. "I'll show you a map sometime."

"Does it look like I care?" Jack asked.

"Well it might be in your benefit to know these things." Alyssa shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, considering you're now in America and we don't know how to get you two back. You could be stuck here with Traci for a very long time."

"I'd rather not," Jack said plainly.

After almost suffocating due to Traci's cousin, getting flicked in the stomach by Traci, and not being anywhere near the sea, being here was slowly killing Jack and he felt the soon her got out of here, the better off he would be but until such an opportunity presented itself, he was stuck here with Traci and her family.

"Ew, Ew, Ew! Get it away!" Alyssa screamed.

A large, hairy, black spider crawled its way up to the container Jack was standing on. The pirates eyes bugged out of his head and as the arachnid looked about ready to charge Jack drew his sword to fight the monstrous little bugger until Alyssa threw her shoe at it. The spider splattered to the ground, leaving nothing but goo and a couple of legs behind. Alyssa's shoe fell to the floor and she quickly grabbed it and jammed it back on her foot.

"I hate spiders." She muttered.

"I'd rather not 'ave to fight one of those," Jack said.

"Maybe we should leave," Alyssa looked over at Jack who raised an eyebrow at her.

"I thought you were burning with curiosity," he said.

"I was and then the Lochness monster of a spider came out of hiding," she said with a twist of her head and a pout of her mouth. "You know what. You don't tell Traci I got freaked out by a spider and I'll make sure to keep her from flicking you."

"Deal," Jack said hoping into her hand and returning downstairs with the one last look at the attic before heading back downstairs. Guess there really wasn't anything worth finding up there after all.

* * *

Hector Barbossa swam through piles of useless junk as he tried to escape whatever container he was in. This wicked place, whatever it was, had left him stranded with no ship and these ridiculous idiots that called themselves a crew. He did not sign up for this when he came back from the dead.

"Dalma!" he yelled. "Get me out of 'ere!" His little fists slammed against the container as he look upwards to find her perched on the edge of it, perfectly balanced. She looked down from her perch and sniffed.

"An' 'ow do you es'pect me ta do that?" She said with her hands on her hips. Her accent coming out heavier due to annoyance.

"You're the one who got us all into this mess, you can get me out of here!" Barbossa called out to her.

"My magic don' work dat way." Tia replied and Barbossa had the distinct urge to strangle the woman. "Be'sids there is a group o' people up 'ere who would radder 'ang you then save you. That Swann child be lookin' for anythin' which they can use for rope."

"Tia!" Barbossa stamped his foot and roared. "Get me out of here!"

Tia looked around lazily and her eyes came to rest on Elizabeth, who was shouting out orders to the crew whilst Barbossa was trapped and Jack was nowhere to be found.

"Swann!" Tia called to the girl. Elizabeth turned and stared at witch. "Barbossa be wantin' out o' captivity." She pointed down into the box and Elizabeth stalked over to the edge and stared down at the tiny man.

"I hope you're happy." Elizabeth sniffed and glared at him. "We've lost Jack, Will, and the Pearl!"

"Why you'd care about of those three Ms. Swann is a mystery to me." Barbossa rolled his eyes, his voice was thick with sarcasm. "You broke off your engagement to Turner, hate Jack, and since when do you actually care what happens to my ship?"

"Since it's our ticket out of this mess, whatever mess it is." Elizabeth argued, stubborn as ever.

"Just get me out of here," Barbossa said with an aggravated snort.

Elizabeth scowled at him, muttering something about how she hated pirates, and looked around for something like a rope. She spied Pintel and Ragetti playing with some fabric.

"Pintel, Ragetti!" She gestured the men over. "Bring that cloth over here!"

"Why should we listen to you, yer not the cap'n!" Ragetti, the scrawny little pea brain of a man, said and Elizabeth unsheathed her sword.

"Get. Over. Here." A glint of fury was in her eyes.

Pintel and Ragetti begrudgingly brought the pink frilly fabric back over to Elizabeth who sheathed her sword at their arrival.

"Everyone with me!" The remaining crew gathered around Elizabeth as they lowered the piece down to Barbossa and waited until he had a hold of the makeshift rope before pulling him upwards.

"Come on you scallywags! Put yer backs into it!" Barbossa glared up at the group.

"I wouldn't mind dropping him entirely." Elizabeth grunted as the group fell back on the wood floor as Barbossa climbed the rest of his way out and dropped down to the ground with Tia. The now very much alive pirate dusted himself off and wheeled on the enigma of a woman.

"Alright Tia, get us home," Barbossa said.

"We need the pearl to get home, until we find it, we're ta remain 'ere," Tia said.

"We wouldn't even be in this situation if you hadn't-" Elizabeth was abruptly caught off by Tia.

"I did wha' I 'ad to do!" Tia's voice reverberated off the nearby containers. "If you could 'ave thought o' something better girl then next time do so. Tia will remain out of your way! But I need dat ship, and we 'ave to find it."

"We don't even know where we are," Gibbs said.

"Does not matter. We 'ave a while before we must return," Tia said with a wave of her hand.

"How much time?" Barbossa grabbed her gruffly.

"I doan't be knowin," Tia said. "But it will be within the next month." She paused as the group groaned, "But if we don't 'ave dat ship. We ain't a goin' to be gettin' anywhere. We'll be stuck 'ere."

"Well I refuse to remain here while my father is in trouble," Elizabeth said. "We need to find that ship."

"And where do you propose we start Ms. Swann?" Barbossa marched over to her. His face pinched with anger. "We have no water, no food, and no idea where we are!"

"Actu'lly, tha's not entirely true," Pintel said, he pointed to Cotton's bird. "I bet 'ed be good tastin'." The parrot squawked.

"Don't eat me! Squawk!" Cotton's parrot moved farther away from Pintel.

"We're not going to eat Cotton's bird," Elizabeth said disgusted and then turned her gaze on Barbossa. "We will find the ship and we will find the others with or without provisions. Besides, we won't last long just standing around. We have a better if not equal chance to survive if we go looking for the ship."

Barbossa hated to admit that Elizabeth was right but her idea was correct and though he would have rather died again then listen to the advice of this…_woman_ he didn't have much of a choice.

"Fine then," he said turning to the rest of the crew. "Gather yer things, we're headin' out to look fer the Pearl!"

The crew scrambled for what little they had as Barbossa walked straight up to Elizabeth.

"Don't be insultin' me in front of me crew lass. I may be back to save Jack but I only 'ave one thing in mind and that's to get me ship back, stay out of my way." His eyes narrowed into slits and his mouth parted just enough for her to see the yellowing decay of his teeth.

"With pleasure." Elizabeth spat.

Barbossa huffed as he hurried past her, not wanting to waste the rest of his time with the woman. Tia watched the exchange with calculating eyes. Elizabeth stared at her, hating the way she seemed to know what was to come but at the same time not knowing what they were going to face.

_ Was Tia at all useful? _Elizabeth thought with a grimace.

"Ye've got yer work cut out fer ya, Swann." Tia came out of her silent trance.

"Do I?" Elizabeth asked distractedly.

"Turner still 'as a tight grip on yur h'art," Tia said. "But I won'dar…"

"What?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yu've done 'im wrong," Tia said. "I won'dar if 'es goin' to want ta remain wit you."

"You know _nothing_." Elizabeth seethed as she glared at the voodoo witch.

"Do I?" Tia's yellow teeth shown from under her dark lips. "You'd like ta think tha' wouldn't ya?"

Tia's smile grew while Elizabeth remained stone faced and she hummed a song to herself as she disappeared over the edge of the mountain of things with the rest of the crew.

Elizabeth hung back for a moment; she and Will were obviously not meant to be together, right? Totally opposite in both personality and ideals, for the most part, they just weren't the same people that they had been. She shook her head, this was not supposed to be about her relationship with Will, this was simply a get out of here and get home adventure. She had bigger things to worry about then a lost fiancé and even worse, the object of simple lust in her life, Jack Sparrow. God she hated that man.

"Swann, if yer planin' to stay up there all day we'll just leave you behind!" yelled Barbossa. "Get down 'ere!" Elizabeth rolled her eyes and followed Barbossa down the steep incline of boxes and miscellaneous items, her mind forgetting all about lost love and lust.


	5. Chapter 5

**Ch. 5 **_**My Love  
**_  
Peter Sharpe felt like he had been the idyllic boyfriend for the past year. He'd been patient, caring, charming, and loyal…well…somewhat. It had been a little harder for him to stay emotional distant from women as of late. His summer love with Traci had been dwindling and now that he was back in San Francisco he knew that he was going to have to deal with the situation at hand. Meaning Renée.

Renée (who was seated in his living room watching a movie while he made popcorn) was friendly and she was well…she was there. Long distance was killer on Peter's nerves and when you're lab partner looked like a ginger version of Kate Upton he found himself more than a little compelled by hormones and loneliness to be friends with his newest lab partner. Nothing had happened—not yet anyways. As he stared at the woman's side profile she giggled at something on the screen and smiled at him with that sweet face of hers.

"You almost done with the popcorn?" She cocked her head to the side waiting for him. _Oh she was tempting…_

"It'll be just a minute," he said turning around with phone in hand to wander out into the formal dining room. He looked down at Traci's picture—smart, dependable, lovely Traci who had been nothing but kind. He brought a hand to his face and sighed.

Remember, long distance. You despise long distance, he thought as he stared at the phone. Guess it's now or never.

Part of him was hoping she wouldn't pick up and that would be a sign that he was doing the wrong thing by his girlfriend but her laughter filled the phone as she giggled at the sight of him calling.

"Peter! I was wondering when I'd hear from you," she said sounding so genuinely happy that Peter felt himself wanting to vomit at what he would be doing soon.

"H-hey Traci," he said with a stutter. "Sorry, I didn't call sooner. You know things are crazy with moving back home for the summer and all."

"That's okay. We had our hands full the night of the storm," she said. "But I would love to see you. When can you meet? I have the week off aside from Wednesday."

"Oh well," Peter looked out through the dining room doorway at the side of Renee's face. "How about tomorrow? I've got an afternoon free and uh…I think we…need to talk." There was silence for a moment on the other end of the line. He'd done it. He'd dropped the bomb. He waited for a tense second for the explosion.

"Traci?" He heard a small movement in the background and then Traci taking a deep breath.

"Mmm, right…" She said sounding deflated. "We can talk. T-tomorrow." All of her giggles had gone away. She was as aware of the upcoming conversation as he was.  
"I'm sorry, Traci," he said sounding for a moment since in his words. "Would lunch be okay?"

"We can just meet at Hendricks's park around one," she said. "I think that would be better." He winced when she'd mentioned the park. That's where he'd met her last summer. When all of this had still been pure bliss.

"Sure, Traci, sure," he said as the microwave started to go off. "I-I'll see you tomorrow then." She whispered a goodbye of some sort and Peter blew out a breath of air akin to relief. He turned around and found Renée standing by the machine and blowing on a kernel as she popped into her mouth. Her moist pink lips forming an 'o' shape and then a gratified smirk that came with feeding hunger pains.

"Let's watch a movie," she said. Peter could only nod dumbly as he followed her to the couch any doubt that he'd made the wrong decision gone in an instant.

* * *

Traci was staring at her iPhone picturing for a moment that she could throw it out the window or against a wall in her blind rage and overwhelming grief. Well, not that overwhelming. It had felt like it had been coming for a while. It just…she loved him. She sunk down to the floor in front of the window seat where she had been reading _The Three Musketeers_ to Will for the past hour.

_The day had started out so promising_, she thought in misery.

"Traci." Will broke the young woman's train of thought as she glanced upwards at him. Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears as she tried not to cry. "Are you…okay?" She shook her head and wiped her eyes before the water that welled inside of them could rush down her cheeks.

"I need to go find Alyssa," she said picking up Will and placing him back onboard the ship. Her voice wobbled a little and she thought for certain if she kept looking into Will's concerned face she would start crying so she dashed out of the room as quickly as she could and made her way downstairs where Alyssa was sitting in the living room listening to more tales from Jack.

"Alyssa." Her voice came out in a strangled cry and the other girl looked up and froze under her friend's gaze.

"Oh, baby." Alyssa whispered with sympathy as she got up from the couch. She wrapped her arms around Traci as she came down the last of the steps as the brunette started to cry into her friend's shoulder. "What happened?"

Through a mucus and tear-infested explanation Traci told her of the brief conversation on the phone as the pair sat on the bottom steps of the stairs.

"You don't know if he's going to break up with for sure, though," Alyssa said. "He might just want to air out his frustrations about the long distance." Traci shook her head as she leaned up and looked at her friend.

"You didn't hear his voice," she said with a whimper as she tried to wipe her tears away. "I don't know how I can face him tomorrow and remain c-calm." She burst into a new wave of tears and Alyssa ran her smooth fingers over the other girl's cheeks and wiped them away from her face.

"You'll be fine," she said. "I'll be waiting for you to keep you calm tomorrow and I'm going to doll you up so you feel so confident you won't want to ruin your mascara." Traci let out a tearful laugh as she looked into Alyssa's warm brown eyes.

"And if that don't work then I'll just come in with a baseball bat and knock some sense into him to make you laugh. How about that?" Alyssa smirked as Traci let out a louder laugh.

"Do you promise?"

"I'd never leave you without backup." Alyssa pulled Traci in for another a hug as her gaze wandered to the pirate on the coffee table. "Maybe we can get Jack to stab him." Traci laughed into her friend's shoulder.

"Stab who?" Jack's interest was piqued, but both girls ignored him.

"I love you," Traci said to Alyssa. "You keep me sane."

"Well somebody has to." The other girl responded with a huff and a smile. "Let's put Captain Sassy away and watch Doctor Who. That will cheer you up."

Traci could only nod as she watched the pirate captain begrudgingly be herded back upstairs to spend the rest of the afternoon with Will.

* * *

Robert Trinidad always said that it was impossible for his family to go a day without someone shooting off a toe or bumping their head into something or finding some unusual surprises. He was already surprised to find his daughter looking a little more glum than usual and after Meredith had wormed the information out Traci, he had immediately vowed bodily harm to Peter to which Alyssa only echoed his response by saying: "Don't worry Mr. T, I'm taking the bat with me tomorrow so I can get his man card back."

Aside from this, everything had been normal, but it had been his mistake to think that things would stay that way. It was real late into the night, Traci had put Jack and Will in their ship for the night and the girls were gabbing in Traci's room, and he was grading papers for his classes while Meredith had taken the quiet evening at home to get down the pictures from the attic and start the project of organizing them. Something she had said she'do for years. Robert had heard her wander upstairs from his bedroom thinking that she was crazy to try and tackle her situation right now when she called downstairs to him.

"Rob!" she called. "I think we've got a rat problem!"

"Okay," He said distractedly as he tried to decipher one of his student's handwriting. His concentration on whether Sara Mason was making a's or e's in the sentence came to startling halt when his wife screamed and there was a loud crash from upstairs.

"Meredith!" Robert jumped out of bed and ran up the stairs into the attic, jolting to a halt at the sight of his wife on the floor. "Mere!" He heard the patter of footsteps behind him as Traci and Alyssa came upstairs.

"Is everything okay?" Traci kneeled beside her mother who sat up in sluggish motions.  
"What happened?" Meredith clutched her head.

"I think you fainted again," Robert said looking her over.

"I don't faint," she said.

"I know." Robert sighed as his wife's brass as Alyssa walked behind him and over to the pile Meredith had been looking through.

"Holy crap!" The young woman yelled and pointed. "Look!"

The Trinidad's slowly stood up and looked over at what Alyssa was pointing to. Robert felt himself blanch at the sight.

"There's more?" He said as the small pirate figures made their way into the light.

"Oh my god!" Traci whispered.

"I think I feel dizzy," Meredith said tightening her grip on Robert.

"I love this house!" Alyssa clapped her hands excitedly. "I call dibs on Gibbs and Cotton's parrot!" Everyone looked at her strangely.

"You'll not be laying a hand on anyone until we get some answers," Barbossa put away his sword. "Now, who are you people?"

"That's so freaking cool!" Alyssa poked Barbossa and he swiped at her with his sword, but she moved to fast for him to nick her in time.

"I think that's enough poking, Alyssa." Robert pulled his daughter's friend back with a worried expression on his face.

"But they're just so cute!" Alyssa did a happy dance while standing in place.

"Cute is hardly a word I would use to describe Barbossa," Traci said flatly as more of the crew came out of the shadows.

"Oh my god, it's Elizabeth!" Alyssa said.

"How do you know my name?" The blonde pirate whipped out her sword and looked at everyone with a great deal of suspicion.

"Alyssa!" Traci hissed between her teeth at her friend.

"Oops." Alyssa covered her mouth.

"Look, let's just calm down here-" Traci said.

"Oy, Pintel!" Ragetti's glass eye swerved around to look at. "Looks, I told yous the giants are real!" The blotted pirate hobbled into the light more as he stared, bug eyed, at the group before him. He slinked over to Barbossa and started whispered in his ear.

"Try speakin' with 'im really slow, Captain, you don't know how dumb they are," Pintel said although he hadn't been quiet enough in his observation.

"Hey!" Alyssa got in the little man's face. "I am not dumb!"

"Alyssa, back away dear," Robert pulled his daughter back away from the pirate.

"That one's breathe smells." Pintel whispered fanning the air in front of his face.

"My breath does not smell!" Alyssa cried and then looked doubtful. "Does it?"

"Of course not," Traci said hugging her friend before looking back at their newest tenants. "Now what exactly are you little people doing here?"

"We are looking for Jack Sparrow and William Turner." Elizabeth spoke up before Barbossa could answer. He scowled at her for a moment before fixing his eyes on the giants in front of him.

"And," Barbossa started. "We want to know where my ship is."

"But it's not your ship," Alyssa said. "It's Jack's ship." Barbossa twitched as his face scrunched up in righteous fury.

"It's my ship lass and I suggest you say so unless you want me to shoot ye." He barred his yellow teeth menacingly.

"I can't deal with this," Meredith fanned herself. "I'm a professor. This shit is for Gulliver's travels not my damn attic!" Robert tried to console his wife.

"Just calm down Meri," Robert said with a deep sigh. " Traci, ee best get them out of here."

"Jack's not gonna be too happy to see Barbossa," Traci whispered to her father. "Not to mention awkwardness of the Will and Elizabeth deal."

"There's nothing we can do about it," Robert said. "We'll just have to make due." He turned to address the pirates. "Perhaps its best you come with us."

Both Elizabeth and Barbossa narrowed their eyes in suspicion, but the lady was the first to lower her blade and sheath it considering that they really had no other choice.  
"We should go with them," she said.

"Absolutely. Not," Barbossa said.

"Barbossa, stop being pigheaded!" Elizabeth snapped as she faced him square on. "We don't have a choice. We have to accept their help or stay here to starve to death." Barbossa's mouth moved rapidly as he twitched and scowled at the veracity of her words.

"Damn it." He muttered along with a few other choice curse words most of which no one could understand because they were 18th century terms.

"Um…" Alyssa searched around and picked up a nearby basket. "You guys can come on in here and we'll take you down."

Barbossa looked mighty insulted to being reduced to being varied around in a basket but one sharp prod from Elizabeth and he got into the basket along with the rest of the crew, grumbling and pouting for the insult all the while.

Meredith stuck close to her husband as they followed the younger generation down from the attic.

"I think it best we keep the attic locked for a while," she whispered to her husband.

"Don't worry, Meri." Robert pulled her close and kissed her forehead. "Things will be just fine."

"How are we supposed to care for…" she counted in her head. "How many of them do we have now?"

"Ten," Robert supplied for her.

"How are we supposed to care for ten six-inch tall pirates?" Meredith whispered.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Traci can handle them all just fine." Robert assured his wife. "Now, why don't you go relax."

"Robert Trinidad you're insane to have married me…" Meredith faced him.

"I know," Robert said. "I consider it an upside." He kissed her briefly and then called to his daughter. "Traci, take out new guests to their ship and we'll figure out some way to accommodate them."

"Sure," Traci responded as she and Alyssa walked back into her room. All the while thinking that this was not a good idea at all.

* * *

"Jack, Will! Uh…I have a surprise for you," Alyssa said as the two girl's kneeled in front of the ship with the basket at the two men's eye level. Will blanched and his face hardened at the sight of his ex-fiancé while Jack went into a screaming fit.

"Ye brought tha' one 'ere!" He pointed an accusatory finger at Elizabeth. "She's the one who got me eaten by the Krakken in the first place!" Elizabeth glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Like you didn't deserve it," She said.

"You're right, I didn't," Jack said and when he saw Barbossa in the basket he became livid. "No, no, not that one!"

"I'll be taken back over as Captain of my ship," Barbossa said as the crew hoped from the basket and onto the deck of the black triple mastered sailing ship.

"You are not captain any longer you beastly swine, but I'm sure Mistress Traci and 'er boxom friend 'ere could find you accommodations elsewhere," Jack said eyeing Alyssa's cleavage for a moment.

"Shut up!" Barbossa ordered. "We need to get to the pearl and get out of here. We've got things to do. The sooner we get away from these dull creatures the better."

"You know what," Alyssa said attitude in flux. "The least you could do is say: _Traci, we are sorry for inconveniencing you in this time of your life but we must be returning to our own land_-" Barbossa cocked his pistol at her.

"I will shoot you." He stated in a flat tone.

"Ok," Traci interrupted. "That's enough now." She stepped between Barbossa and Alyssa. "Put the gun away if you please." Barbossa stared at Traci long and hard he holstered his weapon. "Alright, now, you guys said you needed the ship to get you back home?"

"Yes," Barbossa said. "Someone thought it was a brilliant idea to shrink us down to size so we could escape a tight spot-"

"Ye weren't complain' when I's did it considerin' it did get out o' dat scrape without any limbs gone astray!" Tia's head whirled in the Direction of Barbossa. He dreadlocks flying in a mad array around her. "And might I be remindin' you tha' ya need me to get you out o' 'ere."

"You shrunk the ship?" Traci looked at the tiny Tia with a raised eyebrow.

"It takes a lot o' work to do it but it can be done." Tia appraised her and smiled, showing the black stains on her teeth.

"Tia." Traci addressed the woman. "How are you guys getting back exactly?"

"Well Barbossa is right." Tia responded though she sounded annoyed that she had to say the seemingly living zombie man was correct. "We do need da ship but we got to wait till we're big enough and den we got ta get da ship out ta sea."

"You failed to mention that!" Barbossa's eyes had bugged out of head at mention of Tia's latest hair-brand addition to the plan.

"Musda slipped my mind." Tia replied scathingly. "Until such a time we're stuck here."

"Wait, wait, you're telling me, you're going to get bigger." Traci looked at all the figures aghast. She did not sign up for this.

"Da spell only lasts for so long and it used up a lot of my supplies," Tia said. "You don't know 'ow 'ard it was to get everyone da size dat they are and the rarity of some of those things I used."

"Did you hear that Alyssa?" Traci sounded nervous. "They're going to get bigger."

"Wow, how totally awesome is that?" Alyssa smiled.

"Awesome? Yeah… real awesome." Traci felt herself breaking out into a cold sweat. "Where am I going to keep you all?"

"I'm stayin' in 'ere," Jack said.

"You are not!" Traci closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose and then put her head between her legs. "Is it just me or is the room spinning?"

"Oh Traci, now is not the time to have one of your panic attacks," Alyssa said.

"…I think I should go back to my shrink." Traci let out a squeak while Alyssa patted her awkwardly on the back as an argument broke out on ship.

"It's not your ship anymore!" Jack burst out. "It's my ship, it always 'as been my ship, and it will always be my ship!"

"No!" Barbossa growled. "It is my ship and you're going to take me to my ship by getting us off this bed."

"No," Jack said childishly. Barbossa didn't even retort as he pulled out his blade, Jack immediately drew his own. The two men circled and charged at one another on the deck while the rest of the crew hastily attempted to get out of their way.

"I'm going to be putting up with _that_everyday," Traci sighed as she watched the fight. Alyssa just smiled picked the two men up by their coats and smiled as they dried to slash at her but couldn't.

"put us down you miserable wretch!" Barbossa bellowed from the top of his lungs but it only made Alyssa laugh.

"You will put your weapons away and you will play nice until all this is over, are we clear?" She raised one eyebrow and glanced between the two pirates who begrudgingly relinquished their weapons to their scabbards and grumbled as they were placed back on the deck of the ship.

"That's better!" Alyssa placed them on the bed and watched them for a second. "See Traci, you can handle these guys." Traci had doubts up the wazoo about that though.

"I'm too tired to handle this," she finally said standing up. "Just go to sleep or something and try not to argue too much."

"Traci!" Will called out to her causing everyone to turn around to him. He flushed at the attention and beckoned her over. She held out her hand to the tiny man and brought him up so that he was eye-level with her.

"I don't wish to cause you more anguish but," He looked down at the ground in the direction of Elizabeth.

"I'll set you up somewhere else, if you'd like?" Traci said in a soft whisper.

"Thank you," He said and Traci smiled in reassurance understanding the need to remain parted from loved ones who had hurt you. She perched him on her shoulder as she looked down at the clan she had now collected: Tia, Pintel, Ragetti, Barbossa, Jack, Cotton & parrot, Marty, Gibbs, and Elizabeth, and Jack stared up at her.

"Don't kill each other in the night." Traci told them walking off while Alyssa smiled at their disgruntled faces with one another before heading over the Traci's bed.

Traci picked up a small pillow from her window seat and placed it on the nightstand beside her table along with a small blue bandana that she normally used to pull back the curtains on her window that Will could use as blanket.

"I hope that helps," Traci said. "If you get cold just wake me."

"Thank you, Traci," he said with a sad smile. "Will you…will you read more of that book?" Traci heard Alyssa snort beside her in what sounded like a bit of a giggle and she smacked her friend who just laughed loudly for a second before quieting again.

"Of course," Traci said grabbing the book from her window seat and settling under the covers of her bed to read while Alyssa looked through her phone and Will sat with his back to the ship and his eyes honed in on Traci as she read.

* * *

Now that they were unsupervised Jack and Barbossa retreated to the Captain's quarters to bicker and argue over who the ship really belonged to whilst the rest of the men retreated below until only Elizabeth and Tia remained on decThe two women did not acknowledge one another, but meanwhile was discreetlywatching the small interaction that was going on between William and Traci. She sipped on her rum and stared at them, her heart tugging her around in odd directions.

"Got yer eye on William Turner again." Tia walked out of the shadows. Elizabeth remained silent and turned her back on the scene. Tia did not stop her flow of conversation though as she studied the pair from the ship. "You don't know what you want Elizabeth. Dat's your problem."

"I know exactly what I want," Elizabeth said between gritted teeth. "I want to get out of here."

"Dat's not w'at I'm talkin' about." Tia smiled in her usual condescending omnipitent way. "I suggest you figure out wha' you want 'Lizabeth. He ain't gonna wait around forever." Tia disappeared below remaining ever the mysterious one.

Elizabeth waited until she was sure Tia was gone before turning back to watch Will and Traci. If it was jealousy coursing through her veins or anger that Will just wouldn't listen to her side of the story she didn't know, but she wasn't sure they could go back from this. As if sensing her transfixed gaze upon him Will turned, for a brief moment, and his eyes connected with Elizabeth's eyes, but as instantly as they had connected the pair looked away from one another.

_Maybe there is no going back,_ Elizabeth thought as the heavy weight of sadness pressed down on her chest as she dipped below the deck.

* * *

Will watched as Traci yawned loudly as Alyssa snored with deep breathy huffs beside her. Her eyes started to droop and she ran her hands over her face as she rested the book in her lap. Her exhaustion was evident and Will, though nowhere near that point of sleep himself, knew she needed rest.

"You should sleep, Traci," Will said. "We can continue this another time."

"Are you sure?" Her green eyes were fluttering with the wanton desire to sleep. "You don't seem tired and I wouldn't want you to feel…lonely?" She scrunched up her nose as she rested her head against her head board. "That's not what I mean."

"Perhaps you could leave this light on for me to read by," he said. She nodded. It wasn't that obtrusive with it's warm yellow glow.

"That's fine," she said rearranging the table so that he would be able to read and his makeshift bed wouldn't be in the way. She showed him how to turn off the light before she propped open to the page they were on and Will sat down on the book's spine to read as Traci wished him a goodnight to which he faintly responded in kind soon there was just the gentle breaths of the two large humans beside him and the uproar of the arguments from the Pearl as noise.

It was nice—the quietness of it all though it left too much room for meditation. Will had been reading along fine for a little while and then his thoughts turned inward. The book, though riveting and good entertainment, was not keeping the pirate's thoughts off Elizabeth who he had not expected to see ever again and now that she was here, what was he suppose to do? Let things remain distant and cold between them? Try to repair their relationship? Will had too many questions and no answer for them.

At least Traci seemed to understand what was happening and she was doing what she could to make him feel more comfortable around here. It was nice to have someone to talk to and who was at least trying to make him feel better for his troubles but even Traci's kind words and understanding nature could not help him with this problem.

As he pulled the string down of the beside lamp and got into his makeshift bed he felt only the growing confusion of his future with Elizabeth and with only a slim possibility of returning home, perhaps it was time to move on and just go on with life.

What more could the man do?


	6. Chapter 6

**Ch. 6 **_**Growth**_

Mondays were no one's favorite day. For most it signaled the starting of a vigorous work week or the end of a prosperous weekend. For Traci this Monday meant the end of her relationship.

She wasn't sure why she even bothered to sit there and listen to Peter's bullshit of a reason for why he was breaking up with her. She had a feeling, as Alyssa had warned her, that the real reason was a redhead who was of better access than Traci. The more Peter babbled on about how he'd been so confused since winter break and that he didn't know long distance would be so hard, the more irritated Traci became.

"Why can't you just have the balls to tell me the truth?" She looked him in the eye and he adjusted his hipster glasses under her gaze. A nervous tic he had picked up when he was trying to build an argument. "Please, just…tell me the truth. I deserve that much from you, don't I?"

He'd stared at her, aghast at her comment. He accused her of making up things and telling her she'd always been suspicious of his friendship. He made it seem like she was the one with the problem. It screwed up so viciously to one final point in his attempt to cleanse himself of any wrongdoing that Traci couldn't take it anymore and just slapped him across the face.

"You're a coward, Peter Sharpe," she said and with those last words she abandoned him on the park bench while he collected his wounded pride. She walked right into the arms of Alyssa who was waiting for, baseball bat in hand, and ready to pounce if Traci needed it.

"He's not worth the effort," she told her friend and the two slunk off to try to enjoy the rest of the afternoon and that's how Traci Trinidad's summer love went out with a whimper instead of a bang.

* * *

Alyssa had to return home in the afternoon to see how damage control was on the house so Traci spent the afternoon babysitting her new-found pirates who continued to argue, explore, and frustrate everyone in the house. Her mother was more freaked out by their presence than ever when she learned that the little creatures were actually going to grow into full-sized humans along with their ship.

"How are we going to care for them?" Meredith had almost fainted at the news. Traci didn't have an answer for her. All she knew was that her now small secret was growing into a big, big problem.

* * *

By Wednesday Alyssa was permanently back home and not sharing a room with her sister though she visited the Trinidad house more often than her family probably wanted her to, Traci was cleaning in preparation for Alex's new visit, and the pirates had already started growing. They were each now a full twelve inches tall and there ship had escalated in size to the point that it had already been moved downstairs until the Trinidad family could figure out where to put it. Because eventually it would be one, giant vessel that would expand beyond their house's limits—hell even their block's limits—before the next month if Tia's magic was working in the way she said it would.

"Why can't I go to my ship?" Jack had been haranguing Traci for an hour trying to get back downstairs to the Pearl. She'd kept the pirates tucked away in her room in preparation for her Uncle's visit with Alex and since they were all only a foot tall they still couldn't reach the door—thank goodness.

"You know why," Traci said. "I've told you six different ways that you just can't be downstairs now and if you keep asking me I will tie you to my bed like I did on Monday when you decided to try and follow me into the shower."

Jack was quieter after that though he did mumble a lot on angsty desperation. Traci was glad for the peace. She was starting to regret adopting all these strange and unusual characters into her parent's home. This was harder than she had hoped it would have been.

She jumped up from the floor startled as her door banged open and Alex ran inside with a squeal.

"Where's Jack?!" Alex asked excitedly as the pirate ducked out of sight behind a bookcase and the other ones scattered around the room at the loud and very dramatic appearance of Traci's cousin.

"Behind the bookshelf," Traci said watching her cousin scramble upwards yelling: "Jack, Jack, Jack let's play!" The little girl slowed to a halt though when she saw Barbossa.

"Would you be quiet!" Barbossa as he came brandishing his weapon. Alex screamed in fright and quickly flicked Barbossa across his floor and scrambled over to Traci, climbing on the bed.

"It's the evil guy!" she cried. "What's he doing here? Has he killed Jack?"

"What's going on up here?" Robert walked into the room brandishing a baseball bat.

"Alex found Barbossa," Traci said sitting on the bed with her cousin. "She's a bit freaked." She looked back her cousin. "Alex, its ok, Barbossa isn't here to hurt anyone."

"Why is he here?" Alex huffed as she looked out and noticed a few more pirates peeking out from their hiding places.

"He came with the others and they got separated in the attic," Robert said with a shrug as the creatures started to assemble upon the main floor including Jack. Traci got down on the floor with Alex who looked at everyone rather confused.

"I don't know her," Alex pointed to Tia Dalma who moved backwards at the child's movement.

"She's from the newer movies," Traci said as her cousin eyed all the new contenders. Her gaze finally settled on Elizabeth as she brightened into a toothy grin.

"You're in love with Will," she said with a giggle. Elizabeth looked a little uncomfortable with the announcement and Traci pulled her cousin back from the pirates to appraised them better before Alex ripped from her grip and cuddled Jack into her arms.

"Jack!" She sighed as the pirate slowly lost the ability to breathe until she held him away from her chest.

"Alex, be careful." Robert warned his niece.

"Jack, I missed you!" Alex exclaimed. "And I'm going to here all day so you and your new friends get to play with me the entire time."

"Nice to see you, giant." Jack patted her hand awkwardly.

"Oh god no," Gibbs looked a little pale.

Barbossa frowned at this display of affection and started to unsheathed his sword.

"I won't be made a toy out of it," Barbossa twitched a little.

"At least you're taller." Marty spoke. "I might be squished by 'er."

"Love, Alex, big little one." Jack wheezed taking a deep breath. "Jack Sparrows is not a doll, I'm not a play toy or play thing, and-"

"You don't want to play with me?" Alex's big brown eyes grew wide.

"Ahh, don't do that." Jack ordered as her face came painfully close to his.

"Please Jack," whispered Alex. "I've never had a real life pirate as my friend before, could you and your friends please play with me?"

"Uh well…" Jack glanced in the crew's direction. All of them shook their heads no, but Jack's thoughts consisted of, if he had to go through this then so did they. They would all suffer together! "O' course they will."

The grew groaned and vented some key words of anger at him before being silenced by Traci, who reminded them that Alex was only eight and didn't need to be hearing their potty mouth language.

"Traci, can I use your Barbie stuffs to play with the crew?" Alexandra turned her brown eyed gaze on her cousin.

"W'as a Barbie?" Gibbs asked.

"Not now sweetie, maybe another time," Traci explained.

"But Traci," whined Alex.

"The answer is no Alex," Traci said firmly. Alex looked like she was going to throw a fit over this but thought against it.

"What's with her?" Traci asked her father. The pair retreated closer to the doorway.

"Deborah and your Uncle had a fight last night." Robert explained with a degree of tiredness. "Deborah spent the night at a friend's house and apparently your uncle decided it was best to leave Alex among some normal people for once while he goes after her." Traci stared at her father in sympathy who was as torn up about the situation as his niece was and hugged him before he went downstairs to his office. Traci shut the door to her room and watched from her window seat with her iPhone in hand as she continued to delete photos of her and Peter off it while her cousin tried to corral the pirates to play with h

Alex to the characters as she dumped out her own toys onto the floor in front of the Barbie sized pirates.  
"Now what should we play? We could have a tea party or play with Eric's legos or-"

"I don't want to play," Barbossa said. Alex frowned deeply.

"Traci!" She crossed her arms. "The icky guy won't play with me!" Traci sighed at the whine in Alex's voice.

"Maybe Barbossa isn't the best person to play with," Traci said.

"He's a poop head," Alex stuck her tongue out at Barbossa who eyes the little with complete contempt.

"That's a little first grade munchkin," Traci said. "You're in 3rd grade now. You need to come up with a better…phrase."

"You mean like what mommy calls daddy when she's mad?" Traci's head snapped up at the comment as she looked at her cousin.

"What does your mom say to your dad?"Traci asked gently, hoping she wouldn't be causing too much trouble by asking this.

"She calls him an assh-"

"Woah!" Traci held up her hand. "Let's stick with poop head and don't you ever repeat that other word." Alex shrugged and turned back to her new found entertainment.

"Gibbs," Jack shoved his good friend toward Alex. "Tell the little-big one a story."

"Err, wha' kind of a story Cap'n?" questioned Gibbs.

"Anything to keep 'er entertained so we're not used like dolls," Jack said under a cough.

"Right." Gibbs rubbed his hands together and faced Alex. "Want to hear a story, lass?"

"Is it about Jack?" Alex lolled her head to the side.

"I could tell ye one about the Cap'n if you want," Gibbs said.

"Do it!" Alex clapped her hands joyfully.

"So this is what you've been up to while we've been wandering around looking for the pearl? Playing dolly for this child." Barbossa looked like he was the possible verge of laughter.

"I want ta go back ta the Caribbean, now." Jack growled at Tia.

"Like I said—" Tia fanned herself. "Not possible until we's be big enuff to sail out o' 'ere."

"I'm the captain and I say we leave, now!" Jack twitched a little.

"S' not goin' to 'appen!" Tia spat at him.

"And who made you captain anyway?" Barbossa questioned. "I'm the Captain of the Black pearl!"

"You are not," argued Jack. "I am the Captain of the Black Pearl!"

"And the one who got us into this mess." Elizabeth added.

"You were the one who left me to the Krakken love," Jack said. "You kiss me and shackled me ta the mast! Ye jist missed me too much to let me stay in Davy Jones' Locker."

"I most certainly did not!" Elizabeth scoffed. "There was a group agreement to rescue you from your fate. Perhaps we should have left you there."

"I would 'ave been better off," Jack said.

"Oh please, you wanted to be rescued," Elizabeth said rolling her eyes.

"Ah!" Jack poked her in the chest. "Let's think about that accusation Ms. Swann. I was forced to '_die_' at the hands of the Krakken because of you and when you so lovingly came to my rescue I was perfectly content to take only Gibbs, Cotton, and Marty…maybe even Pintel and Ragetti but I could 'ave left the rest of you considerin' the spot I was in."

"Guys, calm down." Traci ordered. "Things worked out alright. I mean, yes you're only twelve inches tall and your ship can only float in the bathtub or a bird bath and you're a million miles away from the Caribbean-"

"Love." Jack stopped the girl midsentence. "Yer not makin' the situation any better."

"I cannot believe how ungrateful you are to us," Elizabeth said. "You are absolutely the most selfish person I know."

"Oh really," Jack said. "Considerin' you only kissed another man and left him to die while ultimately breaking off yer engagement to the Eunuch-though understandable- was not an unselfish act at all, hmm?"

Elizabeth tried to speak but words did not come out. All eyes shifted to Will, who had been trying to walk away from the situation only to stop mid-stride on his way over Traci and turn around.

"Will…" Elizabeth breathed out his name and Traci sighed as she picked up the young man from the floor.

"Alex, be good," Traci said walking out the door with Will who looked like he was going to murder something if he didn't leave the room. Traci sat outside her closed bedroom door and placed Will on the ground in front of her and waited for him to speak first as he paced and fumed.

"I lost my fiancé to a man who only cares about himself," The pirate said. "And now I am stuck here with her for at least a month until…who knows what." He stopped for a moment. "I cannot do this."

"Will, you need to find some resolution to this," Traci said as gently as she could.

"What do you expect me to do?" Will's british lilt grew gruff with rage. "Be happy over the prospect of losing Elizabeth to Jack?" He shook his head. "I can't believe I'm still thinking about this woman. Why is she so important to me? She's betrayed me."

"It's natural to still have some feelings for someone you've lost," Traci explained. "I remember one time, I sent a valentine to this guy I really liked and I even hand delivered it to him right…well, he never acknowledged me, never called me, never even said _'Hey, I'm not into you like that'_ even. He just ignored me even though I passed by him between classes."

"What did you do?" Will asked, not entirely believing that someone could turn down Traci. She wasn't bad looking and she didn't appear to have any grotesque habits, of course Will had only known her for a couple days.

"I was upset," Traci admitted. "But I got over it because I found other purposes other than mooning over that guy." She paused, "Trust me Will, when one door closes another door opens. If you don't get back together with Elizabeth there will definitely be something better around the corner." Will didn't respond as he continued to breathe deep and hard for a moment trying to quell his emotions.

"So…are you going to stop being sorry for yourself?" asked Traci.

"I don't think I have much of a choice do I?" Will replied.

"Exactly," Traci said picking him up and standing again. "Now, why don't we go play nice with the kiddies, ok?"

"Or…we could hear more about Porthos, Athos, Aromas." Will was almost pleading in his gaze upon her and Traci knew she wouldn't deny him so she brought him back into the room, curled up in the corner of her bed with him and read to the pirate in her lap while her cousin listened to Gibbs and played with her new friends.


	7. Chapter 7

**Ch. 7 **_**Broken**_

Mona Taylor had been Deborah Trinidad's friend for many years and the closet thing to a confidant that the devious woman could get a hold of. She was sheltering Deborah from her husband Greg for what seemed like the fifth or sixth time that month and she was starting to grow tired of. She wanted to know when this blasted tug and pull Deborah had going on with Greg would stop so everyone could move on. As fun as it was to watch Deborah play with her food, it was starting to get increasingly old.

The two women were sitting upstairs while Mona looked out the window had her lips creased into a thin line over a cigarette when she saw Greg Trinidad pull up into her driveway.

"The boy scout is here." She blew out smoke from her nostrils and took another deep inhale. "He looks like he's on a mission."

"It's about time." Deborah zipped up her dress and slid into her heels. "I was beginning to wonder how much longer it would take him to come to his senses."

"I really don't understand why you keep him around." Mona blew out a puff of smoke before extinguishing the cigarette. "He's a boy in men's clothing. He's not for you."

"He serves my purposes." Deborah ran her fingers through her bottle blonde hair as the doorbell rang.

"Even so, when will you drop him?" Mona spoke as they made their way to foyer to go fetch James.

"Soon," Deborah said. "My lawyers have already brought up the papers. He'll get the kid and I'll get a nice chunk of alimony from him when we're finished."

"Sounds thrilling." Mona was smirking. "When is the due date?"

"Soon," Deborah said not giving anything away. "Now get to the door, I'm going to be up here waiting for you to '_call_' me."

"Brilliant." Mona cackled as the doorbell rang. "I'M COMING!" She sashayed down the stairs, opened the door, and looked Greg over. "I suppose you're here to see Deborah."

"I wouldn't mind it, Mona," Greg said standing up straighter. Mona moved aside and walked up the stairs partway.

"Debs!" Her voice carried across her home. "James is here to see you."

Deborah took a deep breath, pinched her cheeks to make them look a little brighter, and made her way out into the open.

"Greg, what do you want?" She spoke with a discerning grace as she descended the stairs.

"I want you to come home, Deborah." Greg pleaded gently. Mona snorted. Deborah cut her eyes to her friend.

"Alright," Mona said. "I know when I'm not needed." She wandered back to her bedroom, the smell of cigarette smoke leaving the couple behind.

Deborah stood at the bottom of the stairs, one hand resting on the railing and one on her hip.

"Well, you're here now," she said. "What do you have to say?"

"I'm sorry," James said_. __Even though you picked the fight and I didn't, _He thought.

"It was stupid-" _It was about your friend, Eddie. The one you keep inviting over for dinner and spend late nights at work with._

"I should trust you-" _But I know I don't._

"It was never your fault. I shouldn't have gotten upset. I want to make this work Deborah-" He paused. "I love you." _Even if you don't love me._

Deborah was still for a moment before nodding. She walked down the stairs and hugged him like a snake tightening its hold on its next victim.

"You're forgiven sweetheart." She purred into his ear. "It was silly of us to fight about Eddie. You know I love you."

"I know," Greg said. "Why don't we go home and talk about this some more?"

"Of course." Deborah kissed him deeply. "Let me just say goodbye to Mona and I'll be right out."

"Ok," James walked out of the house and back to the car while Deborah waltzed into the guest room with Mona not far behind wanting the details.

"Well—" Mona was puffing away on another cigarette. "Is he hooked?"

"Like a seven year old on candy." Deborah chuckled, snapping her purse shut. "I'll see you at the gym tomorrow."

"Count on it," Mona said goodbye to her friend and watched her drive off with her soon to be ex-husband.

* * *

Gibbs had related as many tales as he could to Alex, but the girl still managed to convince the pirates to have a tea party with her after a few whining and fit-full tantrums. Traci hadn't thought much of the reactions. She was still perched on her bed reading to Will who was now seated on her nightstand where he could practice his sword work while still listening to the young woman speak. Everything was a relaxed sort of comfort until Alex came rushing up to her cousin with a determined look on her face.

"Can I take Jack home?" Alex crawled on the bed with her cousin. "I promise to take good care of him!"

"I don't think that's such a good idea Alex," Traci said carefully thinking about her Aunt Deborah and Uncle Greg. There reactions, though priceless to a miniature Jack, would make things difficult. The idea that perhaps Deborah might even hold Jack hostage for fame purposes briefly flashed through Traci's mind as well.

"Why not?" Alex looked miffed at the statement. "He'd be real good company."

"I don't think Jack would want to be away from his ship," Traci said scrambling to find a good lie that didn't shout out that she didn't trust her relatives to respond well to the captain.

"Then I'll take the ship." Alex frowned as she felt her logic was sound. "Please Traci."

"The answer is no Alex, I'm sorry." Traci responded.

"You're just like mom…" Alex muttered starting to get off the bed but Traci stopped her.

"What?" she asked looking hurt as Alex wrenched her arm out of her grasp.

"You're just like mom!" Alex yelled as her tantrum took over. "You never let me do anything!"

"Alex, calm down-"

"I want to take Jack home!" Alex was beyond hysterical as Traci tried to console her. "I don't want to play with stuffed bears and stupid Barbie dolls. I want to hear Jack tell me stories every night before I go to bed like daddy used to do!"

"Alex it's just not safe to do!" Traci said.

"I want him to come home with me!" Alex screeched causing the entire house to abandon what they were doing and race upstairs.

"You can't take him home!" Traci's voice rose as her frustration grew as the pair stood toe to toe over the issue.

"You can't stop me!"

"Alex!" Meredith intervened grabbing a hold of her niece and dropping down her eye level. "Alex, stop yelling young lady or you're going to go in time out."

"But I want to take Jack home!" Alex wailed as she wrenched herself from her aunt's hold.

"I'm sorry dear, but you can't," Meredith said. "Now, do I need to send you in timeout or will you be a good little girl for-"

Alex's eyes burned with fury as she screamed and started to beat her fists against Traci only to turn around and with great force knock everything off Traci's night table including Will. A collective gasp rang out as Alex started to cry over what she had done.

"Will!" Traci rushed over to the figure where he'd been thrown. She picked him up gently and he winced, clutching his arm. "Oh God, I think his arm is broken!" Everyone pushed forward to look over Traci's shoulder as she cradled the injured young man.

"I'll be ok," Will said but groaned in pain when he tried to move his arm.

"No you won't." Traci got up from the ground. "We've got to bandage his arm somehow. It will heal in place, right?"

"None of us majored in the mechanics of something that tiny," Meredith said looking Will over.

"But Alyssa's dad has," Traci said as the idea struck her. "He's a veterinarian. He's worked on hamsters and guinea pigs and stuff like that maybe he could help us with this."

"But then he'll know." Meredith whispered with fear in her eyes. " Alyssa's father is a wonderful man, Traci, but do you really think he can handle something like this?"

"He's our only choice," Traci said as silence pulsed through the room.

"Then hurry," Robert said nodding in consent for his daughter who careful cradled will in her hands as she grabbed her pursed and rushed downstairs to get outside. She only stopped when she heard the sobbing moans of her cousin coming after her.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Tears streamed down her pink face.

"It'll be alright." Traci reassured the little girl, but she had her doubts about this one. She gave her cousin a gentle squeeze on the shoulder before dashing out the door and placing Will in the seat next her. She wasn't sure how to make him more comfortable as she texted Alyssa the issue before heading out to her house. Traci hoped that Mr. Lavine could help especially since a Barbie sized human being was a little different from treating a hamster or guinea pig.

_Let there be a miracle today,_ she thought.

* * *

When the Trinidad's came back upstairs to check on the other pirates and tell them of what was going to happen the other nine creatures had all slumped to the floor and were writhing around on the ground in pain.

"What's happening?" Alex looked between her Aunt and Uncle who were both staring at the scene in horror. Robert dropped to the ground near Tia and repeated the question.

"Growin'…too soon." She shuddered as her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she gasped in pain as the figures that had only been a foot tall before began to stretch as though their bodies were being spread across a rack.

"Turner…'e's in trouble," Tia said with labored breaths before letting out an ear-piercing scream as Robert rushed down the stairs to call his daughter.

* * *

"Your cousin is quite the terror when she's angry." Will tried to manage a smile, but it came out as more of a grimace as Traci drove like a madwoman to Alyssa's house .

"She's an ok kid when she's not throwing a tantrum," Traci said with soft inflection. "Things are bad for her at home and Deborah spoils her just to keep her out-of-the-way."

"Sounds bad," Will said suddenly breathing a bit harder. He sat up in the passenger seat and groaned.

"Will?" Traci looked at him concerned as he started to shake in the seat.

"Something is wrong." Will's breath came out in short rapid pants. "Traci, we have to stop—" He was cut off as an anguished scream rattled through his body causing Traci to swerve in traffic out of fear and shock.

"Hold on, Will, just hold on," She said as she searched for wildly for a place to stop as she dipped off the side of the road and watched with fear as Will's body began to stretch and morph before her very eyes. She reached for his hand which grew and formed around her own. His screams drowning out the sound of her cell phone in the backseat.

* * *

"Pick up, Traci, come on pick up!" Robert paced back and forth in the living room as he tried to contact his daughter.

"Robert!" Meredith was screaming from upstairs again and as he stopped on the second floor landing which descended into silence.

Meredith stood in her daughter's doorway clutching Alex to her body as she looked into the room. Her eyes were hollow and wide as she glanced at her husband who rounded the corner and stared at the sight before him. All over the room were nine, unconscious full-grown pirates and one parrot.

The bird was seated on the window seat as he looked up at Robert.

"Squawk! When do we sail? When do we sail? Squawk!" The bird said.

Robert's phone went off in his hand and as he answered a tearful, panicked Traci started babbling into the phone.

"Traci, slow down, what is it?"

_"It's Will, Dad. Something happened…"_ she said. _"He's not breathing!"_

Robert turned at the sound of someone groaning and moving. He watched as Tia Dalma was the first one to rise from the ground like zombie and move toward him.

_"Dad, what do I do?"_ Traci was crying but Robert, transfixed by the woman in front of him, did not respond. He reached out a hand to support her as she struggled to remain standing.

"Bring me William Turner," Tia said.

_"Was that Tia?"_ Traci's voice sounded like she was going in to shock.

"'e is dyin', girl, bring 'im back 'ere." Tia looked back down at the crew who were slow to rise to their feet. "If 'e's gone we are never returnin' 'ome."

"Traci, did you hear that?" Robert said still a little mystified at everything that was happening. There was some sort of affirmative growl on the other end before the line went dead.


	8. Chapter 8

**Ch. 8 **_**A Touch of Magic**_

Traci had probably broken more traffic laws in the past twenty minutes than she had in her entire driving record. She skidded to a halt in front of the house and honked her horn a couple of times as she rushed out of the car to get Will out of the passenger seat. He still wasn't breathing.

"Move, lass." Jack pushed Traci aside with a gentle shove as the pirates brought Will out and carried him back into the house with Traci following behind them.

"He's not breathing," Traci said when she met her father at the door who only pulled her into a hug for a moment before escorting her into the dining room where Tia Dalma was drawing symbols on the table with sharpie marker. She was mumbling things under her breath as she took some salt and scattered it across the table before slamming her hands into the center of the table.

"Lay 'im down," She ordered the men who helped deposit Will on the oak surface as carefully as they could.

"You cannot die, Turner," Jack said into the unconscious man's face. "We need you."

"What's she going to do?" Traci asked her father who scrambled for an answer that seemed valid.

"I 'ave to bring 'is soul back," Tia said. "When he broke his arm my magic seal broke and now things are moving too rapidly."

"Does that mean that the ship—"

"I don't know why it 'asn't torn your house apart already," Tia said with a grunt. "But if we can't get 'im back then we are all stuck here."

"Here are the candles you requested," Meredith said depositing a box of them on a nearby chair. Most were scented bath candles (seemingly useless) but Tia had everyone light them as they shut the blinds and curtains to encase the room in darkness.

"Traci, I'm scared," Alex said with tears in her eyes and Traci hugged her cousin in an attempt of comfort, but it was Tia who made the girl stop crying.

"Don't worry," She stooped down to the Alex's eye level. "As long as you 'ave faith he'll be fine." She smiled at the girl for a moment before standing up. "You should take her upstairs. This isn't for the eyes of children." Traci nodded with mute ascent as she took her cousin up to her bedroom and shut the door trying to block out the sounds from down below. Tia looked at Meredith and Robert who appeared as calm as the child she'd just ushered away.

"Go." She told them. "You cannot do anything for him now." The couple shrank upstairs to their daughter's bedroom where they sat in a circle and tried to not think about what was going on downstairs. None of it was truly computing for them on a cognitive level.

* * *

Tia muttered words that none of the pirates understood as she placed her hands on William's chest and forehead.

"She could be mutterin' curses," Gibbs said.

"Quiet," Jack said as he watched the woman work. His eyes shifted over to Elizabeth who was standing beside Tia looking as pale as the moon. Her eyes were glossy with un-shed tears as she looked up at Jack. Her mouth opened and closed as though to speak, but no words came out and her gaze returned to William's unconscious form. Her previous concerns about her relationship were draining away at the sight of her deceased beloved.

_Please,_ she prayed. _Please let him leave._

"Will, come back to me…" Her voice was just a hair's breadth of a whisper.

Tia's chanting got a little louder as the house started to shake with the reverberation of power and magic. Items began to fall off shelves and pirates grabbed a hold of anything substantial to keep them rooted in place. Curtains and shades started to flap as what felt like wind circled through the downstairs of the house as a banshee scream caused everyone to drop to the floor in pain except Tia who kept chanting and chanting. She was yelling above the wind as she raised her hands up above her head as the torrent of magic grew to a climax.

"We should stop this madness!" Pintel tried to holler above the noise as a piece of paper flew into his mouth.

The magic seemed to swirl above Tia's head as she screamed out one last moment before slamming her hands William's chest with such force that the body jumped up for a moment before lying back down. The house collapsed into silence as a few lamps and items shattered to the ground. Tia stood up straighter as she stared down at William's unmoving figure.

"He's still not breathing," Elizabeth said reaching for the young man's limp hand.

"Wait." Tia snapped at the woman. A few seconds more and then there was a slow movement, a gentle rise of the chest, and Will's eyes opened.

"Will!" Elizabeth cried as she wrapped her arms around the man as the tears she hadn't wanted to release before fell like a steady rain down her cheeks.

"Elizabeth…" Will breathed out her name like a caress and she kissed him on the mouth as he clutched her hand tighter in his.

"Nothing like death to bring young love together, eh?" Jack looked around at everyone, but nobody was grinning.

"What are we ta do now?" Barbossa looked at Tia. "Our ship is still made fer miniatures and yet we've grown long before you said we would."

"I'm afraid my magic can no longer lock the ship ta size," Tia said as the Trinidad family slowly came back downstairs when the noise had dissipated.

"He's alive!" Alex rushed across the threshold of the dining room and scrambled onto the dining room table to look at Will.

"I'm sorry," she said with earnest as Will sat up with some help from Elizabeth. He reached out to child and hugged her in forgiveness. Traci came up behind them and looked at William.

"Will Turner, I should punch you for scaring me like that," she said wiping her eyes.

"I think the feeling is unanimous," Jack said into her air as he appraised her head to toe now that he was only a foot or some taller than her. "If only we had more time." He shook his head and Traci raised an eyebrow at him as he swaggered over to her parents.

"Robert, Meredith." Jack addressed the couple who were still reeling from the shock of the events. "It seems we're in a bit of situation, you might say."

"My ship hasn't grown to full capacity yet," Barbossa said.

"You mean _my ship_," Jack said standing in front of the older pirate. "And it seems that Tia's magic is fading—at a rapid pace."

"What do you need?" Meredith swallowed a lump in her throat as she was the first to speak.

"Open water," Tia said speaking before Jack got carried away. "Tha' ship is gonna grow soon and we can't be landlocked with it."

"How are we going to do that? The water would be too shallow on the beach. It'll attract too much attention." Meredith looked to her husband whose eyes had narrowed into a concentrated state.

"Greg has a boat," Robert said slowly as the plan formed in his mind. "We could take them out further into the water and drop the boat into the sea to see if it grows and send them on their way."

"Do you think he'll actually believe any of this?" Meredith looked at her husband askance.

"We'll find a way to convince him," Robert's mouth set into a determined line. "It's all we can do."

* * *

Traci was waiting outside for her Uncle, who was on his way to pick up Alex without knowing what was awaiting him, and Alyssa, who was desperate to be a part of the pirate's final adventure with the Trinidad's. She had her three musketeer's book in hand, but she was only reading it halfheartedly as her mind whirred with the newest information she had to begin processing.

She'd seen a man die, she'd watched him arise, and she was now planning on sailing out far enough into the ocean to watch the group sail off into the sunset. She thought it was so funny how she had doubted her own sanity at the arrival of the little people who were now all grown up. If she could have known that this would have happened in the future then she would have laughed and signed herself up for psychiatric treatment. It was unreal—akin to a fairy tale that just didn't have any grounding with reality.

The front door opened and she turned to look at William who stood behind her for a moment looking out at the day.

"Do you mind if I join you?" She smiled and patted the wood plank beside her as he rested his long legs on the ground. His hair brushed into his face as a heated wind flew up around them and he tied back the loose strands with a bandanna he had in his pocket.

"You are handsome," Traci said out loud with a boldness she didn't know she possessed. He simply blushed. "Elizabeth is a lucky woman to have you, Will Turner."

"Do you think that I made the right choice?" His brown eyes squinted in the sunlight as he faced her. "It's just…you had your heart broken because someone betrayed you and I don't…"

"Listen, what my ex-boyfriend did was nothing compared to what Elizabeth did," Traci said. "You can't compare the two. To be honest, you guys are pretty much destined for one another. I don't think fate could tear your bond and when I saw the look she was giving you when I entered the room after you rose…oh man…she loves you. She loves you bad." She shook her head as she looked out across the street where a few of her neighbors' kids were playing. Her fingers glided over the book in her hand. "You know I think Athos stated it best at the end of the novel: '_You're young. Your bitter memories will soon change to happy ones'."_

"Wise words," Will said looking down at his hands before extending one to Traci. "Thank you, Ms. Trinidad."

"You're welcome, Mr. Turner." Her fingers grasped his and they made a firm handshake before breaking apart.

They both turned to the street as a car halted awkwardly to a stop in front of the house. Alyssa bounced out of the vehicle, purse in hand, and ran full blast at the pair sitting on the steps. She stopped just short of them and stared at Will, bug eyed.

"This is some crazy shit," she said and then she leaned over and gave Will a bone crushing hug, inhaling his scent deep through her nostrils.

"Damn, you smell fine." Will patted her a little on the back looking uncomfortable until she released him.

"Thank you, Alyssa," he said. "That was…invigorating." He stood up and offered his seat to the young woman before turning to go back inside to leave the two best friends to talk.

"So he's really taken then, huh?" Alyssa said.

"Willabeth forever," Traci said using the canon nickname she had heard often in reference to the pair's romance.

"Such a shame," Alyssa said. "I think you guys could have been all cute and romantic together."

"Shut up." Traci pushed her friend in the arm as the pair giggled only to sober up as they stared out across the street.

"You think your uncle is going to buy this?"

"Nope," Traci said with a sigh. "But he's our best shot and we don't want that ship opening up a new wing in the house."

"What? You don't want to be more connected with nature?" Alyssa snorted and Traci just shook her head.

"You know..." Traci began. "I keep expecting this to be a dream, but every time I turn around they're still there."

"I'm going to miss them," Alyssa said. "Even Barbossa in a small way."

"I think I'll be happy when things have calmed down, but yeah…I'll miss them." Traci flipped through the book her hands. "A lot."

The two girls leaned against one another. The unspoken bound of friendship keeping their nerves in check and helping them cope with the strange and exotic changes in their life as Greg Trinidad's BMW rolled up.

"It's show time," Traci said walking out to go greet her Uncle.

* * *

**A/N: One or two more chapters to go, ladies and gents. Then it will be finished. Sorry if it all seems rushed. I just wanted to get it all out there before the plot lines ran away.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Ch. 9** **Fair Winds**

Explanations are always tricky and the more Traci and her family tried to expound upon what had happened within their home the more confused Greg Trinidad became. The assumption was that they were having a good laugh at his expense so he made his way to the kitchen determined to show he was playing along for the sake of posterity only to stare in horror at the sight of his young daughter sitting on top of the kitchen table surrounded by a mass of pirates who had ceased all activity the moment Greg walked in.

Alex was the only one to move as she jumped off the table and wrapped her arms around her father's torso with a yelp of glee. She was babbling incessantly about what was happening, but Greg continued to stand numb at the sight before him. His eyes looking at the familiar faces of men and women who were just supposed to be actors. The rest of the Trinidad's came in soon after him and it was only upon their arrival that Greg broke his concentrated stare on the pirates to look at his own family.

"Maybe we should have explained things better," Traci said.

"I think he's in shock," Meredith said placing a hand on her brother-in-law's shoulder. "Come on, Greg, why don't you sit down?" She gently brought him over to a chair into the living room as the gaggle of people moved into his line of vision.

"Your sure 'e's the one to help us." Jack looked less than encouraging as he eyed Greg up and down. "The man does not appear sea-worthy."

"Aye," Gibbs said. "Can't have a captain who—"

"Shut up." Traci rolled her eyes at the pirates as her family stooped down in front of Greg.

"Greg, I know this is a lot to take it." Robert sat down on one of the arms of the couch. "But we can't just sit here and wait for you to work it all out—"

"You just told me fictional pirates who were miniature sized grew into this!" Greg pointed to the men and women in the living room. "Do you know how crazy that sounds?"

"Beyond words," Robert said with a heavy sigh. "How do you think we've felt for the past week? The fact of the matter is though that we need to send them off into the world."

"And I'm supposed to believe that their vessel, once thrown into the sea, will magically grow and they'll sail off into the sunset? I don't think so." Greg stood up and grabbed a hold of his daughter's hand. "Alex, we're going home."

"But Daddy, we have to help them!" Alex whined as her father dragged her away from the pirates.

"Alex, this is…just no!" Greg circled through the crowd of people and halted to a stop when Tia Dalma stood before him blocking his way. Greg moved his daughter behind him and glared at the woman. "I don't know what you've done to my family, but you'll get out of my way this instant."

Tia reached into a small bag tied at her waist and pulled out a smoothed white pebble that appeared as harmless as a fly.

"Yer wife," she said. "Is not a good person." She grabbed his arm as he made to move back and slapped the stone into his palm, rested her free hand on top of it, and then stared into Greg's eyes as the pebble warmed and then glowed beneath her finger tips.

Greg was struggling to break free from the woman until the warmth of the stone flooded his body and his eyes became transfixed on an open void before him.

"Do ya see what she 'as done?" Tia sounded breathy at the comment as sweat beaded down her face and pooled around her collar-bone. "Do ya see what she has planned ta do?"

"Daddy." Alex gripped her father's hand. He still had a strong hold on her though he remained unresponsive.

As panic began to rise in the room the stone ceased its glow and Tia removed her grip from Greg's arm. The pebble that had once been in his palm had now vanished. The woman staggered to the back of the couch and leaned on the piece of furniture, clutching her chest, and wiping the sweat off her brow.

"This is getting weird," Alyssa commented watching the scene before her.

"Like it wasn't before?" Traci smacked her friend in the arm.

"Tia, are you alright?" Will reached out for the woman but she held up her hand.

"The future is always harder to show," Tia said as she looked up at Greg who had tears running down his face as he kneeled down and hugged his daughter close who was whispering in confusion to him over why he was so sad. "Since it can change so easily, but now that is the path yer life is takin'. That woman will leave you with nothin'."

"You couldn't possibly know all that." Greg untangled himself from Alex to stand up and glare through his blurred vision at Tia as he shook and panted from the exertion of the magic she had expelled. "You're lying to me."

"I'm not," Tia said raising her hands in a gesture of peace. "But I am willin' ta help ya if you take us out ta sea."

"How could you help me?" A bitter grunt of laughter followed his statement. The disgust and wariness he was exuding off-putting to everyone in the room.

"I 'ave my ways," Tia said with a mysterious smile. She was used to this kind of treatment. Many did not believe her when she claimed to see into their very future. Greg Trinidad was hardly the first man to threaten her and she was certain he would not be the last. "But ya need ta 'elp us now. That's my bargain in this."

Silence fell over the group as everyone's eyes volleyed between Tia and Greg who was looking his hand over as though it were a foreign entity. He flexed his fingers and felt a resurgence of those ill-fated images that had passed through his brain a moment earlier. Alex squeezed his right hand to gain his attention. Her brown eyes looked up at him as she silently begged for his understanding.

"Daddy, you have to help them," she said. Her voice was small, but she was hopeful. "It's the only way."

Not everyone was at patient over the proceedings and as Greg continued to show himself indecisive, Barbossa decided to spring into action. He pushed through the group till he was standing by Tia, pulled out his pistol, and aimed it at Greg.

"Barbossa, no!" Traci ran for the man, but Pintel and Ragetti pulled her back against the stair's banister to stop her from attacking their Captain as the rest of the group lurched forward with cries of distress and anger.

"I'll shoot him if any of you dare to come near!" Barbossa yelled above the racket as Greg pushed Alex behind him to protect her from the blast of the gun.

"You do anything to him and I swear we won't help you!" Robert had surged forward until he was a mere foot behind Greg who shot his brother a wary stare over the turn of events. Barbossa just laughed at the man's blustering threat and gestured to the two men behind him.

"Perhaps you'll be in a more givin' mood considering I 'ave your daughter here as well." Ragetti drew his weapons on the crowd while Traci cried out in pain as Pintel dug the end of his gun into her jaw. There was another cry of anger from everyone in the room which Barbossa simply chuckled at.

"Damn, Traci," Alyssa said. "That was a stupid heroine move." Her voice cracked as the humor she tried to convey broke under the weight of her own hysteria as she held Meredith who was nearing the point of tears.

"It's okay." Traci tried to reassure her friend and family even though she was shaking with fear. "I'm fine…everything will be fine."

"Barbossa, this is madness!" Elizabeth had her sword drawn and was flanking the other side of Greg with Will at her side. "You're out numbered. Release these people. We'll find another way!"

"I think yer forgettin' Ms. Swann that none of us will be leavin' unless the rest of the crew comes along," Barbossa said. "If you want to be stuck here by killin' me then so be it, but I'm done negotiating with trinkets and childlike pleas to get this man to help us." He turned his gaze back on Greg who bore an angry ilk on his pale cheeks.

"Now it's up to you, Mr. Trinidad. I can either kill your niece and brother to gain your cooperation or we can settle this like gentlemen and you help us without hindrance." He cocked his pistol again as he took aim at Robert's chest. "Make yer choice."

"You're a bad man," Alex said as her eyes filled with tears.

"Imagine how that wounds me, child." Barbossa rolled his eyes as he looked at Greg who was going over all the possibilities in his head. "It seems Mr. Trinidad is not in a bargaining mood, gentlemen. Kill the wench."

"No!" Greg yelled before Pintel could pull the trigger. "I'll help you. Just stop!" Barbossa smirked and lowered his weapon.

"Good man," He said and Traci was thrown into the arms of her tearful mother and friend. "Get to loadin' up the ship or I'll start killin' off yer family members at random." The group of people surged forward to the Black Pearl and began to debate over how to best move her as Meredith ran outside to prepare her Ford Escape which was the only vehicle big enough to potentially carry the now very heavy miniature.

Barbossa watched the scene with his blade and gun drawn. A deep-set frown on his face as the others passed by him in breathy efforts to get the ship out the door. His look turned in to one of disgust though as Jack, having abandoned the heavy labor of getting the ship, sidled up to him.

"You know, mate." Jack began as he adjusted his hat a little and swerved on his heels. "I hope you aren't planning anything drastic for later."

"Whatever could you mean, Jack?" Barbossa was grinning now as he watched Jack try to put the puzzle pieces together.

"You seem more impatient than usual," Jack said. "Stressed…perhaps the weight of our venture is finally getting to you."

"Jack, Jack…" Barbossa shook his head. "If you think you're going to beguile me into relinquishing my ship yer sourly mistaken."

"I think you mean my ship," Jack said.

"No, it's mine," Barbossa said. "And when this excursion is over I'll be takin' it back from ye and whether that's through a congenial handshake or a bullet to yer head is up to you. Savvy?" He glared at Jack as he used the pirate's own terminology.

"Savvy," Jack said all humor gone from his face as they walked out the front door together.

* * *

The real adventure was not getting to the marina with the ship, but trying to carry the piece of cargo across the boardwalk to Greg's yacht at the end of the pier. It was a slow, tiring process and one that gained the attention of several people along the pier who watched the ragtag group of strangely dressed people wander across the boardwalk with bemusement and some with annoyance. Someone yelled that they needed to go LARP somewhere else to which only Traci and Alyssa seemed un-confused by.

"Live action role play," Traci said to her father. "When people dress up and act as their characters from various role-playing games."

"I still don't understand," Robert said and Traci just waved him off with a small reassurance of 'don't worry about it'.

When they reached the medium-sized yacht everyone collapsed on the ground for a moment to regain their strength before they hurried over the gangplank and rested the Pearl on the stern of the _Delilah_ which was partly open so occupants could fish or sunbathe.

The pirates, under the direction of Greg, helped release _Delilah_ from the dock so that she could be set out to sea. Barbossa insisted upon staying at the helm with Greg and Robert while the rest of the crew and its occupants were down in the enclosed sitting room. Talking was kept to a dull sort of whisper as everyone tried to mentally prepare themselves for the coming departure.

"I don't want them to go," Alex said as Traci helped the girl put on a life jacket. There weren't many on the vessel and the little girl was the one Traci was the most worried about in case something should happen so she forwent a life jacket of her own.

"I know, but they have to," Traci said finishing with the ties and buckles. "They'll be happier where they came from." Alex was silent as she stared out the window on her left.

"What do you think Tia showed Dad?" She cocked her head to the side as Traci's gaze flickered over to Tia Dalma who was outside in front of the Pearl in a meditative state.

"I don't know," Traci said though a few ideas sprang to mind concerning her Aunt Deborah. "Either way, she'll help your dad with whatever it is that scared him so bad."

"I hope so," Alex said in a whisper. "I don't like it when he's sad."

"I know." Traci hugged her cousin and kissed her forehead. She took the girl's hand and sat down with her mother and Alyssa, who was also dressed in a life jacket.

"I was not made to be out in open water," Alyssa said as she readjusted her life jacket over her chest.

"Then why did you come on board?" Traci quirked an eyebrow as she tried not to giggle at how ridiculous her friend looked.

"And miss all of this? Not on your life," Alyssa said. "I can't let you have all the fun."

It started to get cloudy when they exited the bay and were out into the open ocean. Seeing the miles and miles worth of desolate sea water put everyone on edge as the anticipation of what was to come started to press down upon them. Tia stood up from her place on the stern and yelled out that they had to stop. She hurried to the helm as the rest of the crew and family members dashed outside to breathe in the sea air. The yacht came to a bobbing halt as the engines slowed and then turned off. Barbossa, Robert, Greg, and Tia rushed down to the stern of the ship and stood with the rest of the crew.

"We 'ave to drop it into the water," Tia said. "It should grow on its own accord after it takes to the sea."

"Wait!" Greg ran over to the woman. "You said you would help me first." Tia nodded and pulled a charm off the side of the belt she was wearing.

"Bring me da girl," she said as Alex was gently pushed forward. Tia took her hand and placed it in Greg's before twining them together with a simple piece of leather and hanging the charm from it. Tia placed her hands over the pair and closed her eyes. There was a moment of utter silence before Tia leaned back and nodded.

"You can untie it now," she said. "But keep da charm close through these dark times."

"That's it?" Greg looked disappointed.

"Do you doubt me?" Tia raised an eyebrow and Greg looked to be debating on arguing with her when Jack stepped in.

"Just accept it, mate," He said clapping Greg on the back. "'s better if you do."

"Get the ship into the water!" Barbossa cut through whatever sentimental moment as everyone hoisted the ship into the air and then plopped it into the ocean. The excitement everyone was feeling halted to a stop when nothing happened. They cocked their heads in confusion and looked at Tia.

"Do ya need to…say words or something?" Marty inquired with a scratch of his head.

"Give it time," Tia said as the wind seemed to shift and the sea air blew into their faces. The pirates and Trinidad family looked back over the edge of the ship to see that the water was slowly swirling and turning a black ink color. The salt in the water started to bubble and squirt as droplets hit the crew and burned their skin.

"That's not good," Jack said as they all backed away from the edge of the yacht.

"Greg, I think we need to move now," Robert said as the other man raced back to the helm to power up the engines again. The water was starting to get choppier and the wind became stronger. Everyone made to retreat away from the stern of the ship, but Gibbs halted them as he yelled out: "The Pearl! Jack, she's sinkin'!"

The yacht's engines had started to turn over as the crew watched in horror as the small ship descended deeper and deeper into the sinking black vortex of water around it.

"What have you done?" Barbossa had rounded on Tia who was looking terrified.

"It was supposed to grow," she said. "Somethin' must be wrong wit' her."

"Should we get it out of the water?" Will was yelling above the howl of the wind.

"It's too late now," Tia said as everyone stared at the ship as the sails started to dip below the surface.

"No it's not," Jack said and he jumped over the side of the boat and into the ocean as the yacht sailed farther away from the Pearl.

"Jack, no!" Alex was screaming and Robert had to hold her back to keep from going after the Pirate Captain as he dipped below the surface of the water and down with the Pearl.

A wave rose up and crashed against the side of the boat soaking everyone on the stern. The winds shifted and Greg stuck his head outside the helm's door.

"Get everyone inside!" He screamed above the gale. The crew ducked into the sheltered enclosed area as they stared in horror at the sight Jack had vanished into.

"He needs air," Meredith said. "He couldn't have survived that." No one responded to her comment as they tried to stay upright as the ship bobbed and weaved through the water, circling around the area Jack had disappeared at a distance.

There was a loud clack of thunder and a spoke of lightning darted out into the black spot where the ship had gone down. The sea bubbled and hissed at the lighting's touch as a groaning sound reached everyone's ears. Then the yacht jolted as it was pulled back toward the swirling mass where the pearl had gone down and Greg came over the intercom on the ship.

"We're being pulled back. Hang on in there!" There was a harsh wail as the engines squeaked under the pressure of trying to cease from being pulled into the depths of the ocean.

"Never mind, I didn't really want to see this!" Alyssa said screaming as she and Traci clutched the furniture, trying to brace themselves. There was barely enough time to scream as a wave ruptured over the stern off the ship and pushed open the doors of the enclosed cabin throwing its occupants against the back of the room before pulling out and taking a few of the crew members with them—one of them Alex.

"Alex!" Traci dove after her cousin with Alyssa not far behind her screaming that this was crazy.

The three of them slid across the stern of the ship and landed with a dull thud at the back of the boat where they huddled together as water continued to douse them. There was a deafening roar and the yacht lurched forward fast and hard as it was released from the vortex's pull.

"Hang on!" Gibbs said.

The three women looked up as another wave came over and swept them overboard into the sea. Traci kept a tight hold on her cousin's hand as they bobbed around in the water near one another with a few other people scattered about them. Alyssa was not far off from as she sputtered and coughed as water swelled in through her lungs as she swam closer to Traci and Alex. The yacht, having dashed away due to the high-powered engines, was now too away for the three of them to swim back to it as they stared at the open water before him that was now slowly becoming calmer.

"If I sink downward you have to let me go," Traci said treading water. Alex clutched the back of the girl's shirt a little tighter along with Alyssa as the three of them continued to bob in the water. There was another loud creak and Traci stared down into the sea as she saw something coming up toward her. She paled at the thought of it being a shark, but then smiled at the sight.

"Take my hand!" She grabbed a hold of Alex's and Alyssa's hands, pulling them both tighter to her as the water shot up around them. Their feet touched a solid mass as they were pushed up through the air like a rocket. The three girls screamed at the sensation as Traci hugged her cousin closer until they halted to a stop. Breathless and panting, the trio parted and looked out around them as they stood on the bow of _The Black Pearl_. There were shouts from the yacht some distance away and from the rest of the crew that were bobbing around in the water. Traci and Alex laughed and hugged each other in a tight embrace while Alyssa bent down and kissed the ground before standing up and blanching.

"I just realized how gross that was," she said out loud to the amusement of Traci and Alex.

"Welcome aboard!" Jack called from the helm as he waved his hat around.

"Jack!" Alex leaped from her cousin's arms and dashed across the deck to her favorite pirate captain whom she embraced in a hug.

"I knew you could do it," she said as he patted her awkwardly on the head. A tender smile of affection crossed his face for a moment before he caught Traci and Alyssa watching him.

"That's enough," he said pushing the girl away. "Let's get you lasses back to yer own ship."

Greg pulled up along the side of _The Black Pearl_ as the pirates boarded their own ship and the Trinidads along with Alyssa were returned to their yacht. The family members looked up at the dirty, bedraggled crew who in turn stared down at them.

"That was interesting," Traci said.

"A little more than that I would say," Elizabeth said as the two women smiled at one another, shielding their eyes as the sun started to break through the cloud cover as it started to set in the west.

"We must sail now," Tia said as Barbossa and Jack both clamored to get to the helm first like six-year-olds.

"It was nice to meet you all," Meredith said with a wave.

"May we not see you again anytime soon." Robert added with a smile to which everyone chuckled in agreement as the sails billowed out and the ship started to glide through the water.

The Trinidads and Alyssa remained floating on the water, waving at the ship and its crew as they sailed off into the distance till it ship was just a jet of black slicing through the golden orb of the sun.

"I think I've had enough adventures for the afternoon," Traci said to which the Trinidad family nodded in agreement while Alex ran to the bow of ship to keep sight of the Pearl for as long as she could.

"Was it worth it though?" Alyssa said as she took off her life jacket and rung out the bottom of her shirt. Traci paused in recollection, eyeing her cousin who was goodbye ecstatically to the disappearing crew and their ship.

"I'd do it all over again if I could," Traci said with a smile as Greg put the yacht into motion and the pearl disappeared into the setting sun.


	10. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Magic doesn't just happen overnight. It grows and stretches until it reaches a certain point where it affects the people around it. Or at least this is what Traci now had to believe when her Aunt Deborah had filed for divorce against her Uncle Greg almost two weeks after they had watched their friends sail off into the sunset. There was a heavy two month period of battle where Deborah stripped Greg down to almost nothing where it looked like she was certainly going to get full custody of Alex who spent what little time she ever had with Traci worrying about the state of things between her mother and father.

It was in those moments that Traci wished Tia Dalma and the crew were still here ti distract her young cousin from everything that was happening. Perhaps they could have even found a way to sail off with Deborah and then conveniently have left the woman on some island in the middle of nowhere. Anything would have been better than the hell Alex and her father were going through now.

But just as everything looked like it was going to fall apart when at the height of the family's duress new evidence came to light that was now being presented before the judge that Deborah was not as innocent of a party as she claimed to be and that she should be charged with child endangerment.

"You left your daughter alone for three hours alone in shopping mall, Mrs. Trinidad, because you were visiting your boyfriend." Judge Martha Kline, a woman who looked like she ate women like Deborah for breakfast, said both appalled and disgusted by the woman in her courtroom. "The security office couldn't reach you! Your husband's niece had to come get her for you."

"That was just one mistake, Judge," Deborah said wringing her hands nervously as she glared at her lawyer to do something. "I'm a perfectly fit mother—"

"According to the documents I hold in my hand you are most certainly not," Martha said bobbing her head a little. "Mrs. Trinidad you have not proven your case well enough that you should have custody of your daughter. Therefore it is this court's opinion that full custody of Alexandra Trinidad be remanded to her father Gregory Trinidad and that you'll be the one to pay child-support."

Deborah blubbered and screeched in righteous anger, but Traci didn't hear much of her rant as her whole family cheered loudly. Her Uncle Greg shook his lawyer's hand and then ran to Alex who he scooped up into his arms and cradled close. It was a fitting end to everything and whether it was Tia Dalma's charm or the skill set of the private investigator the family had hired to collect evidence it still felt like magic to Traci.

That night the Trinidad's celebrated on the town together at a restaurant where Traci's relatives (both her mother's and her father's side) were all gathered around to celebrate the growth and love of family. Tonight was even more special though as her brother Eric was finally coming back into town. His work kept him traveling around the United States and a few other countries so this celebration was as much in honor of his presence as it was in getting Deborah Mason out of the Trinidad's life. Traci had asked her parents if they were going to tell him about the pirates. Both had been in agreement that even with the pictures they had of their pirate friends looking more than a little bewildered at the sight of a camera there was no way he'd believe them. Traci had been a little sad at not being able to tell her sibling about everything that had happened. If he had been there he would have loved every minute of it. Maybe one day he'd be ready to know the truth.

"Where are you? I'm freezing out here," Traci said into her cell phone as she stood outside the restaurant as the welcoming party for her brother. He was running late due to limited parking in the San Francisco area.

"We're walking up to the restaurant now," Eric said with a huff of annoyance.

"We?" Traci looked up and down the street to see if she could spy her brother.

"I'm bringing a colleague with me," Eric said. "He just transferred to the U.S from the U.K division and I'm helping him get settled. We met on the trip so I invited him."

"Mom will be in an uproar that the house isn't clean enough for guests." Traci laughed and then stopped when she saw her brother pop around the corner.

"I don't think Liam will mind," Eric said and then grunted as Traci ran at him in a dead sprint and started to squeeze the life out of him. Eric hugged his sister in a tight squeeze lifting her off the ground for a moment before placing her back down.

"I missed you too," he said breaking from the hug and hanging up his phone.

"Your fault for not coming home more often," Traci said poking him in the chest as he wrapped one arm around her shoulder and turned her around to face his colleague who was laughing and smiling at the sibling affection between the two.

"Well, I brought presents. So unless you're nice you're not getting any," Eric said clearing his throat and gestured to the tall curly haired man before him. "Now, this is Liam Hughes and he does not come from as crazy a family as ours so he's in for a shock."

"I'm sure I'll be fine," Liam said as he extended his hand to Traci who shook it.

"I'm Traci," she said with a smile.

"Lovely to meet you," Liam said releasing her hand from his long fingered grasp. "I'm pleasantly surprised actually, Eric, you described your sister as though she were the devil incarnate." Traci glared at her brother who just smiled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Wait till you get to know her," He said as Traci elbowed him in the side.

"I don't think you need to worry, Liam," Traci said. "I only bring out the horns when I'm trying to get one over on Eric."

"Good to know." Liam's dark brown eyes crinkled in the corner as he smiled and Traci felt herself feeling a little light-headed under his gaze.

"Let's go eat," Eric said breaking the trance between his sister and new friend.

Traci didn't mind the interruption. She spent the majority of the evening talking to Liam who was more than pleased to share her company. Magic, after all, happens at a slow rate.


End file.
